REPORT: Netflix In Plans To Purchase Warner Bros. & HBO

Update 12-9-2025 - includes news of Paramount Skydance's efforts to outbid Netflix

For those who lived long enough to see the streaming juggernaut dismantle the home rental industry, Netflix now takes a monumental step forward in acquiring a piece of entertainment history in perhaps one of the biggest deals in the business. Netflix has announced they have a deal in place to purchase Warner Bros., outbidding the competition. Announcing the news on Friday, they will acquire Warner Bros., ending the disastrous merger of Discovery, which took place in April of 2022, and gain access to HBO as well for a value of $82.7 billion dollars, with the equity value of $72 billion.

This deal could change the way Hollywood functions, and for the next couple of months, regulators and the FTC will be vigorously exploring the inner workings of this merger. Netflix has routinely raised the price of their subscription service over time (as of this writing, if you wish to view without ads, it's $17.99 a month), with little to no guarantee that most shows will be readily available for your viewing luxury. And regarding Warner Bros., the tenure throughout their merger with Discovery saw mostly marketing misfires, layoffs, cancellations of projects, and a massive amount of write-offs for animation programming.

“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, spoke in an official press release. “By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we'll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”

This is quite poetic, as the advent of streaming provided less incentive for patrons to venture out to the movie theaters to enjoy films.

Coyote Vs. Acme was one of the cancelled, now salvaged, projects under WB/Discovery

Should this deal go through, there will be questions and concerns about what this could mean for HBO Max. After several years of net negatives for growth and subscriptions, the streaming platform, considered a direct competitor to Netflix, was eventually able to turn profits. What will be the fate of Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios, a vestige viewed as a strong cornerstone of WB Games. Speaking of Mortal Kombat, was the sequel to the 2021 film delayed as a result of the potential change of ownership?

This mega-merger will likely not be completed with the consumer in mind. And while WB has trudged through years of corporate meddling and mismanagement, this is another avenue of entertainment that is closed off. Granted, Netflix has served as bastions for some of today's most popular properties like the aforementioned K-Pop Demon Hunters and Stranger Things. The thinning of options leaves little for creators, as outlets will focus on the bottom line to ensure the growing costs of these gigantic acquisitions will net profits. Time will tell, and we will see, as more information unfolds.

UPDATE: In a turn of events, it appears that Paramount Skydance is planning a hostile takeover of WBD with an all cash $30 per share off to buy for a total sum of $108.4 billion dollars, according to CNBC. Some of the funding comes for Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company PJSC. Currently, WBD's shareholding board favors Netflix, but this all-in cash offer is no doubt proposed to appease the shareholders for a "smoother" transition.

Both deals have massive regulatory hurdles to overcome, but the heightened urgency from outside partners to frontload so much cash presents a murky agenda. The recent acquisition of Paramount from Skydance shows a strong need to acquire any outlet to control influence. Not too much monger after the merger, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was cancelled due to "budget cuts", as the comedian was always a strong critic of Republican President Donald Trump. Ensuring the merger would pass through the Republican-led FCC with as much ease as possible, Colbert's show was gutted. The outside influences doesn't bode well, we shall see how these events play out.

SOURCE: CNBC