Joining me now is Jim Stewart, columnist at the New York Times and a CNBC contributor. Jim, it's good to see you today. >> Yeah, nice to see you.>> Who's the front runner. >> Well, I have to say it's it's Paramount Sky Dance, you know, by a fairly long length at this point. They clearly had the most compelling argument.You know, I think we have to keep in mind with streaming, it's all about scale. You want as many subscribers as you can get because the marginal cost of a new subscriber is basically zero. So ...

Core Viewpoint - Netflix's shares are under pressure following earnings that missed estimates and a reduction in full-year operating margin forecasts, resulting in a 6.5% decline in stock price [1] Group 1: Earnings and Financial Performance - Despite the earnings miss, the company had a strong quarter, with operating margins projected to be over 30% without a one-time tax issue in Brazil [3] - Netflix's pricing strategy, international distribution, and programming budget scale are significantly ahead of competitors, indicating strong trends in monetization and advertising [3] Group 2: Competition and Market Dynamics - The competitive landscape includes YouTube and Warner Brothers, with Warner Brothers recently announcing it is up for sale and receiving unsolicited bids [4] - Netflix has indicated it is not interested in making major bids for Warner Brothers, viewing the potential acquisition as non-essential [5][7] - The distribution capabilities of Netflix already surpass those of HBO, making the acquisition of Warner's streaming services redundant [6] Group 3: Potential Acquirers of Warner Brothers - Paramount is seen as a potential buyer for Warner Brothers, needing to scale its entertainment offerings due to high churn rates [8] - NBC Comcast's Peacock service may also be interested in acquiring Warner Brothers for its entertainment scale [9] - Amazon is considered a more likely acquirer than Netflix, given its previous interests in sports and content ownership [13]