Buying Warner Bros. Gives Netflix What It’s Always Needed: An Identity

The $83 billion deal gives the streamer a century’s worth of prestige television and movies, from Batman movies to Game of Thrones. It also ends the streaming wars.

Close your eyes, think for a minute, and tell me: What is a Netflix Movie? OK, try again: What is a Netflix Show?

Sure, it’s easy to rattle off some killer titles—KPop Demon Hunters, Stranger Things—but Netflix has never really had a brand identity. It’s not, like Disney, the home of Star Wars and Mickey Mouse. As streaming services go, it’s made its name by being a jack of all trades and a master of none. Now, it’s made its smartest move yet, dropping $83 billion to buy itself a whole new personality.

On Friday, the streaming giant announced it will be acquiring Warner Bros. in a deal that gives Netflix the studio’s film ...