The Media Power Shift: Netflix, Warner Bros, the FCC & the End of 2025

In the final episode of 2025, Daniel Frankel and David Bloom wrap up a turbulent year in technology, media, and telecom — and there is still plenty to unpack.

From a stunning admission that the FCC may no longer be an independent agency, to the mystery bidder known as “Company C” in the Warner Bros–Paramount–Netflix saga, to Sinclair’s rejected bid for E.W. Scripps, this episode captures a media industry at a historic inflection point .

• FCC Chair Brendan Carr suggests the FCC is no longer independent

• Warner Bros Discovery rejects Paramount Skydance — and reveals Company C’s $25B bid

• Why debt levels make the Skydance offer far riskier than Netflix’s proposal

• Sinclair’s $4B bid for Scripps rejected amid valuation and ideology concerns

• Apple TV+’s breakout series Pluribus and the rise of prestige streaming

• Why YouTube’s growing influence may be as important as Netflix’s

• Avatar’s future box-office ceiling and James Cameron’s next move

• Netflix’s awards-season blitz, comedy specials, and live-event strategy

• NFL dominance, college football playoffs, and the evolving sports TV model

• A look back at SNL, Netflix ads, and the year’s cultural flashpoints

This episode also serves as a year-end reflection on Hollywood’s debt-driven consolidation, the collapse of old broadcast assumptions, and where power is really shifting heading into 2026.

🎙 Hosted by Daniel Frankel & David Bloom
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🔍 Topics covered in this episode:

00:00 End of Year Reflections in Tech, Media, and Telecom

04:53 Warner Brothers Discovery's Strategic Decisions

11:19 Sinclair's Bid for EW Scripps

18:22 Cultural Buzz vs. Commerce in Media

23:58 Cultural Phenomena in Comedy and Entertainment

29:22 Political Ads and Celebrity Influence

35:10 College Football Playoff Dynamics