Netflix is exploring a blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming operations, including HBO and Max, in a transaction that could exceed 70 billion dollars, according to multiple reports. The talks remain preliminary, with rival bids, tough antitrust scrutiny and complex carve‑outs still major hurdles.
What’s on the table
Reports indicate Netflix has hired investment bank Moelis & Co and submitted a mostly cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming division, giving it access to iconic franchises such as Harry Potter, DC and Game of Thrones, plus HBO’s prestige TV slate and Max/Discovery+ streaming platforms. Warner Bros Discovery is running a broader sale process, inviting revised bids from Netflix, Paramount/Skydance and Comcast, with its cable networks like CNN and TNT Sports expected to be spun into a separate entity.
Analysts say such a deal would dramatically consolidate power in streaming, combining Netflix’s global subscriber base and data‑driven adtech with WBD’s deep library, sports in some markets and theatrical infrastructure. But US regulators under President Donald Trump are already signalling antitrust concerns that Netflix could gain “too much power over Hollywood,” raising the prospect of a lengthy review and possible remedies.
Key highlights
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Netflix exploring acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery’s studios and streaming assets; valuation estimates top 70 billion dollars.
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Package would include Warner Bros Pictures, HBO, Max/Discovery+ and parts of WBD’s international sports and streaming portfolio, but exclude most US cable channels.
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Competing bids from Paramount/Skydance and Comcast also in play as WBD runs a formal auction.
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Bank of America says a successful bid could make Netflix an unbeatable “content moat” leader and effectively end the streaming wars.
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Senior US officials reportedly worried about concentration of media power; DOJ antitrust division expected to scrutinise any agreement closely.
Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg/WSJ summaries, Fortune, CNBC/eMarketer, Deadline, Bank of America analysis on Netflix–WBD, and other industry reports.