Streaming giant Netflix has officially moved to buy one of Hollywood’s oldest studios. The company confirmed a deal on Friday, December 5, 2025, to acquire the film and television studios of Warner Bros. Discovery, along with the HBO Max streaming service. The agreement, with an equity value of $72 billion, would bring together modern hits like Stranger Things with legendary franchises including Harry Potter, Batman, and Game of Thrones. This move follows a intense multi-week bidding war against rivals Paramount and Comcast.
What Netflix Is Buying and What It Means for Viewers
The deal focuses on Warner Bros. Discovery’s core creative assets. Netflix will take control of the historic Warner Bros. film and TV studios and the HBO Max streaming platform. This means a vast collection of movies and shows will potentially move under the Netflix umbrella.
For subscribers, this union could create one of the largest content libraries ever assembled. Classic Warner Bros. films like Casablanca and modern series like Friends and The Big Bang Theory would join HBO’s acclaimed lineup, which includes The Sopranos, Succession, and The Last of Us. These would sit alongside Netflix’s own popular originals.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated the company’s goal is to combine these storied collections with its global reach. He framed the acquisition as a major step for the company’s mission.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
Importantly, the cable TV networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery are not part of this sale. Channels like CNN, TNT, TBS, and the Discovery networks will be spun off into a separate, new publicly traded company called Discovery Global. This spin-off is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026, after which the Netflix deal for the studio and streaming assets would close.
The High-Stakes Bidding War and Final Offer
The path to this agreement was a competitive and dramatic auction process. The contest primarily involved three major players: Netflix, David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, and Comcast.
Paramount, having recently merged with Skydance, was initially seen as a front-runner. It made an aggressive push to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including the cable networks. However, Netflix emerged with a superior offer for the specific assets it wanted.
The final agreement values Warner Bros. Discovery at $27.75 per share. Each shareholder will receive $23.25 in cash and roughly $4.50 in Netflix stock for each share they own. Including the debt Netflix will assume, the total value of the transaction reaches approximately $82.7 billion.
In a sign of its confidence, Netflix has agreed to a substantial $5.8 billion breakup fee. This fee would be paid to Warner Bros. Discovery if the deal fails to close due to regulatory blocks.
The Major Hurdle: Antitrust and Regulatory Approval
The biggest question now is whether government regulators will allow the deal to proceed. Combining Netflix, with over 300 million global subscribers, and HBO Max, with nearly 130 million, would create a streaming service of unprecedented scale. This has already sparked concern from competitors and industry groups.
Paramount, which lost the bid, openly questioned the fairness of the sale process and argued that Netflix would face serious antitrust challenges. Industry guilds and theater owners have also voiced strong objections.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) stated the deal “raises significant concerns” for creativity and competition within the industry. The trade group for movie theaters, Cinema United, called it “an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business,” citing Netflix’s traditional focus on streaming over theatrical releases.
In response, Netflix has pledged to maintain Warner Bros.’ current theatrical film operations. The company’s leadership is expressing optimism about overcoming regulatory barriers.
“We’re highly confident in the regulatory process. This deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-creator and pro-growth,” said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Experts suggest that while a full block is unlikely, regulators in the U.S. and European Union will likely impose certain conditions on the merger, such as requiring Netflix to continue licensing content to other platforms.
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What Hollywood Is Saying About the Power Shift
The agreement marks a stunning shift in the entertainment industry’s balance of power. For years, Netflix disrupted Hollywood by building its own system. Now, it is choosing to buy one of the town’s most iconic institutions.
Some analysts believe this move could decisively change the streaming landscape. A recent Bank of America report noted, “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.”
Netflix executives addressed the surprise head-on, acknowledging their history as “builders, not buyers” but defended the strategic decision. Co-CEO Greg Peters argued that past media mergers failed because the acquiring companies didn’t understand the entertainment business—a pitfall he believes Netflix will avoid.
The deal is expected to generate significant cost savings for the combined company, estimated at $2 billion to $3 billion annually within three years after closing.
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