Paramount, Netflix, and Comcast Make Bids for โขWarnerโฃ Bros. Discovery
Los Angeles – Paramount, Netflix, โฃand Comcast โขhave all submitted bids to acquire portions of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), โคigniting a high-stakes battle for โcontrolโข of โฃthe media giant housing iconic brands like Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, and DC Comics. the news,โค first reported by The New York โคtimes, confirms weeksโค of โฃspeculation surrounding the future of WBD, which has become a takeover target following a period of financialโ struggles.
paramount’sโข bid is for the entirety โof WBD,โ including its cable networks, while โNetflix and Comcast are โfocused on acquiring the studios and streaming assets. This distinction is key, as โWBD announced โขplans earlier this year to split โinto two companies inโ 2026 – one focused on studios and streaming, and another โฃcontrolling its linear networks.โฃ
The potential acquisition comes less than two โขyears after โWBD โฃwas formed through a โค$43โฃ billion merger of discovery Communications and WarnerMedia, engineeredโ by then-CEO David Zaslav, formerly of Discovery โand NBC. The company’s โฃstock priceโ has remained depressed as the 2022 deal, marked by cutbacks,โ writeoffs, andโค rebrands.
Paramount appears uniquelyโค positioned due to its interest in theโข entire company, โincluding less-desirable assets. Further bolstering its position is the financial backing of CEO David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals,โ andโ his support forโ President Trump, possibly easing the regulatory review process.
Comcast, though,โ may face headwinds due to President Trump’s longstanding animosity towards MSNBC (now MS โคNOW) and figures associated with โขNBC, including late-night host Seth Meyers โคand Comcast CEO Brian roberts.
Any dealโข will require approval from international regulators, especially in Europe, where standards are typically more stringent. Stateside,the size of Paramount’s highest โbid – exceeding $60 billionโค – could prompt scrutiny from state attorneys generalโฃ concerned about potential monopoly โthreats to consumers.
HBO and Max content head Caseyโ bloys acknowledged the uncertainty among WBD employees, stating he encourages staff to focus on controllable aspects of their work,โ as “all of that theoretical” โขpossibility isโ “kind of a waste of energy.”
Jill Goldsmith contributed to this report.
