John Oliver is not what you might say Overjoyed About getting a new “business dad.”
That’s how he refers to whatever company owns HBO, the home of his late-night show Last week tonight, Over the years, from AT&T to Warner Bros. Discovery. On Sunday’s episode, he referenced last week’s news that Netflix had backed out of its bid for Warner Bros., giving David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance the win in the battle for the studio.
“It turns out we might have a new business father,” he said before showing a news clip summarizing recent events. “Yes, no great news. In fact, if I may quote anyone who’s ever accidentally sat down on a Roku remote, “Oh my God, I’m at Paramount now, how do I get out of this?”
Netflix said Thursday that it has declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros. Entertainment. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters issued a statement saying the deal was “no longer financially attractive” and that it had “always been a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”
“The transaction we negotiated would have created value for shareholders with a clear path to regulatory approval,” they said in a joint statement. “However, we have always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we decline to match Paramount Skydance’s offer.”
For his part, Oliver has never been shy about mocking whatever parent company owns HBO. He frequently criticized the former owner of AT&T, mocking what he called its “terrible” service. He also took a swipe at AT&T during a segment about robocalls and spoke out about the company’s support for “white nationalist” Steve King.
And in 2022, when Discovery and WarnerMedia merged to create Warner Bros. Discovery, days after AT&T was no longer the owner of HBO. “Interestingly, as of Friday, AT&T no longer officially owns us, so goodbye from me, Business Daddy. Let me just say this,” Oliver said on his show, pointing to his two middle fingers, “which is honestly two more bars than you’ve ever had,” referring to the provider’s cell phone coverage.
