Netflix has entered exclusive talks with Warner Bros. Discovery to buy the company’s film and television studio, as well as its HBO Max streaming service, for $28 a share (about $60 billion in total), Reuters, Bloomberg and Variety reported.
It’s an unprecedented turnaround for Netflix, which for years had shied away from buying traditional Hollywood assets, focusing on its own content.
The deal comes after weeks of bidding, which also included Paramount Skydance and Comcast. Paramount had offered about $27 a share to buy the entire company, while Netflix and Comcast only bid for the studio and streaming business.
If the deal goes through, Netflix will gain Warner Bros.’ vast library of content, from Casablanca to Friends, to DC Studios’ superhero franchises Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, to HBO’s iconic series The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, and The Wire, as well as the rights to the Harry Potter franchise.
But the deal faces significant resistance. The Directors Guild of America and the theater industry have warned that a Netflix-Warner Bros. merger could be devastating for movie theaters as Netflix reduces the number of films it releases in theaters. Regulatory approval will also be difficult, given Netflix’s enormous market power.
Regulators will scrutinize the deal, given Netflix’s $437 billion market cap and the unpredictability of the Trump administration, but the company says the bundle will lower streaming prices for consumers.
