Netflix’s winning bid for Warner Bros. Studios and HBO Max isn’t just another media merger. It’s a restructuring of power, and it affects anyone working in brand partnerships, entertainment marketing or production.

With Warner Bros.’ iconic slate sliding under Netflix, the world’s largest streamer has just become the world’s biggest cultural gatekeeper. A single company with a passport to our stories, our characters and the products we place in them.

The Library Grows… But the Door Gets Smaller

Once WBD content folds in, Netflix’s catalogue could balloon by 50%+. That means more shows, more cultural moments and more ways for brands to get seen. (Woohoo!)

But it also means Netflix gets to decide who’s allowed through the door.

We’ve had years of brilliant brand integrations in shows like Hacks, and way back, Sex and the City, where disruptive brands could build real cultural traction.

But Netflix is known for a somewhat rigid product-placement structure. And if that same mid–seven-figure “entry fee” stretches across HBO and WBD titles, the access point doesn’t just narrow. It becomes nearly unreachable. (Ouch.)

Who Gets Squeezed? Pretty Much Anyone Not on the Fortune 500

• Smaller and mid-tier brands, the ones fighting hardest for relevance, get priced out.

• Production companies lose a budget lifeline. (Those integration fees plug real gaps streamers don’t.)

• And agencies like ours, who specialise in smart, story-first partnerships, feel the sting directly.

And Audiences Lose, Too

No one wants to watch a show where every product feels like it was chosen by the same boardroom procurement meeting.

Audiences crave authenticity. Worlds that look like their world. Not one dominated by a handful of mega-brands who can afford the entry fee.

When brand diversity disappears, cultural richness disappears with it.

And yes, before any of my industry friends rush to jump in - trade-out placements through prop masters still exist. But let’s be honest… we’re also here to create front-and-centre moments that actually matter, not a shampoo bottle hiding behind the lead’s shoulder like it’s in witness protection.

Where We Go From Here: Two Futures

1. Netflix opens the doors again.

Maybe the penny drops. Maybe they realise that brand diversity fuels cultural relevance, and shutting out emerging brands pushes advertisers to competitors and limits a valuable revenue stream.

That could mean flexible placement tiers, new creative formats and even smarter virtual integrations.

2. Or the monopoly tightens.

• Only seven-figure advertisers get screen time.

• Smaller brands lose access.

• Productions lose revenue.

• Agencies lose opportunities.

• Culture becomes corporatised. (Imagine a world where every character shops at the same three shops. Boring.)

We’re hoping for the former. But we’d be daft not to prepare for the latter.

Why This Matters

This moment isn’t just about ads.

It’s about who gets to appear in our stories, who gets cultural access, and who gets pushed out of the frame.

If the world’s biggest streamer becomes the only gateway, and only the wealthiest brands can walk through, then the future of entertainment and product placement becomes less creative, less inclusive and far less reflective of the world we actually live in.

And that’s a loss for all of us.