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Netflix has agreed an $83 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery's TV and film studios, in a deal that hands one of Hollywood's most prized assets to the streaming giant.
Netflix won the deal at auction, seeing off rival bids by the David Ellison-led Paramount and Comcast.
WBD boss David Zaslav said: "Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most."
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Newsweek has contacted WBD and Netflix via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The deal, which remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, will put two of the industry’s biggest players under one roof, equipping the world’s largest streaming platform with one of the largest film and television catalogues. Netflix would subsequently control one of Hollywood’s most valuable libraries of content, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and DC Comics.
However, the blockbuster transaction is bound to elicit questions about market concentration and the potential fallout for competition in the media ecosystem, with some predicting prior to Friday's announcement that such a deal would draw significant scrutiny from Washington regulators.
Data shared with Newsweek from the streaming guide website JustWatch, based on analysis of its roughly 20 million monthly U.S. users, found that the combination of Netflix, HBO Max and Discovery would control 34 per cent of the American subscription video on demand (SVOD) market.
This would place the entity far above the next closest SVOD platform, Prime Video, which controls an estimated 21 per cent.
Eamon Javers, Senior Washington Correspondent for CNBC, said that an unnamed senior Trump administration official expressed "heavy skepticism" about the deal, a stance he wrote "portends a lengthy and difficult DOJ antitrust review."
The Federal Trade Commission declined to comment.
Newsweek has also approached the White House regarding the announcement.
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What To Know
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per WBD share, resulting in a total enterprise value of around $82.7 billion and an estimated equity value of $72 billion, Netflix said.
Netflix was one of several major entertainment players said to be interested in acquiring WBD, with others including Comcast and Paramount Skydance. Netflix emerged as the frontrunner earlier this week, after beating out Paramount’s bid of around $27 per share, according to CNN, citing unnamed sources familiar with the bidding process.
Reaching the agreement announced on Friday did not come without hurdles, and Paramount Skydance earlier this week expressed frustration with what it deemed an unfair bidding process, according to a letter sent to WBD and published by CNBC.
The letter, addressed to Zaslav, outlined "serious concerns about the fairness and adequacy of the bidding process," and accused WBD of abandoning "the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process" and of favoring a transaction with Netflix from the outset.
In response to the letter, WBD told CNBC: "Please be assured that the WBD Board attends to its fiduciary obligations with the utmost care, and that they have fully and robustly complied with them and will continue to do so."
Newsweek contacted Paramount for comment on Friday’s announcement.
Netflix will also take on WBD’s studios HBO Max and HBO, giving it more of WBD’s sought-after catalogue of franchises like the Sopranos and Game of Thrones.
The pair said, in a press release, that the transaction will create "an extraordinary offering for consumers," increasing choice and "opportunities for the creative community," while also generating "shareholder value."
By enhancing Netflix’s studio capabilities, the company believes it will be able to "significantly expand U.S. production capacity and continue to grow investment in original content over the long term."
And in terms of financial payoffs, Netflix will be able to "attract and retain more members, drive more engagement and generate incremental revenue and operating income." Netflix expects the transaction to yield between $2 billion and $3 billion in cost savings by its third year, and to have a positive impact on earnings per share by year two.
What People Are Saying
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said in Friday’s release: "Our mission has always been to entertain the world. 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."
A Bank of America analysis of the potential deal, quoted by CNN and Fortune, read: "If Netflix acquires Warner Bros., the streaming wars are effectively over. Netflix would become the undisputed global powerhouse of Hollywood beyond even its currently lofty position."
Republican Senator Mike Lee earlier this week, amid reports that Netflix was close to the agreement, posted to X: "Learning about Netflix’s ambition to buy its real competitive threat—WBD’s streaming business—should send alarm to antitrust enforcers around the world. This potential transaction, if it were to materialize, would raise serious competition questions—perhaps more so than any transaction I’ve seen in about a decade. When Netflix has real competition, viewers and artists win. Netflix built a great service, but increasing Netflix’s dominance this way would mean the end of the Golden Age of streaming for content creators and consumers."
What Happens Next
The acquisition was unanimously approved by both boards of directors. The companies said the deal will close following the separation of Discovery Global from WBD, which was announced in June and is now scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of next year.
Consequently, the pair do not anticipate the transaction to be finalized until 12 to 18 months from Friday’s announcement. The deal also remains subject to regulatory approvals, as well as the assent of WBD shareholders.
Update 12/5/25 10.11am ET: This story was updated with further information.
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