Netlflix adds 19 million subscribers… and raises its prices

Netflix had a strong fourth quarter, adding 19 million subscribers to the streaming service. So, what’s with the price hike? Plus, leaked footage adds another twist in the neverending Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni saga, and Trump announces a $500 billion AI initiative with Larry Ellison and Sam Altman. How might that affect Ellison’s stake in his son David’s purchase of Paramount? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni dive in.

One giant leap? Netflix’s huge bump in subscribers could be attributed to the company’s investment in streaming live events. “Netflix typically has strong fourth quarters,” says Belloni. “But the combination of all of these live events, the Jake Paul fight, the NFL games on Christmas, a new season of Squid Game, they had a hit movie in Carry-On… All of it combined to have this is the best quarter Netflix has ever had in terms of subscribers.”

Eye of the beholder? Justin Baldoni’s camp has shared a video of the actor-director rehearsing alongside Blake Lively in hopes to prove Baldoni’s innocence, but the decision may not have paid off as intended. “It's a bit of a Rorschach test here,” Belloni explains. “It’s like: ‘What do you see when you watch this video?’ Because the Blake Lively people are saying: ‘Listen, it says exactly what we said in our complaint. This guy was creepy, he was acting out of character, he was trying to kiss her, and smell her, and all sorts of weird behavior.’ And then the Baldoni people are saying: ‘Well, no, if you look at this, they're joking, and she's being playful, and this is not harassment. These are two people doing a scene together.”

Friends in high places? Billionaire Larry Ellison’s involvement in Donald Trump’s AI project, Stargate may prove beneficial for his son’s acquisition of Paramount. “We will note that Larry Ellison is financing his son David's purchase of Paramount,” Masters clarifies. “He is a big Trump donor, obviously very much in favor, and a MAGA guy. So he is now part of this key initiative, I guess. And that would suggest that there's not going to be any hassle in Washington over this deal that David Ellison has going on.”