After a bidding war that reportedly also involved Paramount, Comcast, Amazon, and Apple, on December 5th, Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion, buying the studio, HBO / HBO Max, Warner Games, and more, while leaving cable and sports assets, including CNN, TNT Sports, and the Discovery channels out.
There are already questions and comments coming from politicians and regulators about the proposed acquisition, and you can follow along below for all of the latest updates as they come in.
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Netflix’s Warner Bros. deal includes Warner Bros. Games.TweakTown says it has “received confirmation that Warner Bros.’ games studios, IP, and content will indeed be part of the transaction.”
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Netflix has announced that it’s struck a deal to acquire Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion. The purchase will go through after Warner Bros.’ planned split from Discovery, now expected to take place in Q3 2026. It will see the streamer acquire the Warner studio, both HBO and HBO Max, and access to IP, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and DC Comics.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix. “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.”
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Yet another rumor suggests that Netflix is interested in buying Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses. On Friday, Reuters reported that Netflix is “actively exploring” a bid for the company and has hired a bank to look into a potential offer.
Sources tell Reuters that Netflix now has access to Warner Bros. Discovery’s “data room,” which the outlet says “contains the financial details needed to make a bid.” Last week, Bloomberg reported that Netflix, Amazon, and Apple are all considering purchasing parts or all of the company. Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh has also left the door open to a potential deal.
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Three of the rumored potential buyers for entertainment titan Warner Bros. Discovery are tech companies. Netflix, Amazon, and Apple are all interested in buying Warner Bros. Discovery as a whole or acquiring pieces of the company, like its content libraries and production assets, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it was launching a “review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, in light of unsolicited interest the Company has received from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros.” According to the report, after receiving the above inquiries, as well as others from Paramount and Comcast, it’s readying nondisclosure agreements for the prospective buyers ahead of sharing financial data with them.
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Warner Bros. Discovery has finally said out loud what has been obvious for months now: it wants to be acquired by another entertainment megacorporation.
Today, WBD announced that it “has initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value” — a roundabout way of saying that the company is open to the possibility of a massive acquisition deal with the right buyer. The news comes just months after WBD’s decision to split Warner Bros. and Discovery Global into two separate corporate entities tasked with running the company’s streaming and cable businesses
