Media Industry on the Verge of Major Changes: Netflix Plans to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery
The global entertainment industry is on the brink of potentially one of the largest mergers in recent years: the American streaming giant Netflix is considering acquiring Warner Bros.
Discovery (WBD).
This multinational corporation includes legendary studios Warner Bros., the popular HBO channel, and the Max streaming service, all of which are key players in the streaming video segment.
According to Reuters, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the negotiations, Netflix has already approached the investment firm Moelis & Co.
for an evaluation of the potential deal and gained access to a data room containing financial information about WBD’s assets.
Representatives of Netflix, WBD, and Moelis declined to comment on the negotiations.
If successful, Netflix would gain control over some of Hollywood’s most valuable assets — the Harry Potter franchise, DC Comics properties, and Warner Bros.
Television studio, which has previously collaborated with Netflix on popular series such as ‘You,’ ‘Maid,’ and ‘Running Point.’ Moreover, integrating HBO and its streaming platform could significantly strengthen Netflix’s position in prestigious drama content and help expand its subscriber base, increasing its competitiveness in the market.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has stated that the company typically prefers to grow organically through content creation but is open to acquisitions if they are sufficiently large and enhance the platform’s content capabilities.
He emphasized that Netflix isn’t interested in owning outdated cable networks like CNN, TNT, Food Network, or Animal Planet, which are part of WBD.
“We have made it clear that we are not looking to control legacy media channels.
Nothing has changed in that regard,” he said.
Last week, WBD’s board of directors announced it would assess strategic options for the company’s future after receiving three unsolicited takeover bids from Paramount and Skydance for the entire corporation.
Among the options under consideration are splitting the business — separating Warner Bros.
studios, HBO, and Max from television assets, or a complete sale of the company or its parts.
If Netflix manages to close the deal with WBD, it could become one of the largest media consolidations in the past decade and significantly bolster Netflix’s competition against Disney, Amazon, and Apple.
Additionally, Netflix and Spotify recently announced a strategic partnership, which will see both platforms hosting video podcasts starting from early 2026 in the US — streaming full versions of 16 popular podcasts produced by Spotify Studios and The Ringer network.