Netflix has announced plans to buy part of Warner Bros. Discovery in a $72 billion deal that could send shockwaves through the entertainment industry – especially for streaming services.
The acquisition will include WBD’s film and TV studios, HBO and HBO Max, potentially combining well over 400 million streaming subscribers and a massive library of content.
While Netflix and the HBO platforms will be run separately, a tie-up could bring Netflix smash-hits like “Stranger Things” and “KPop Demon Hunters” with WBD classics like “Harry Potter,” “The Sopranos” and “Friends” under one roof.
The deal – which has raised antitrust concerns – is expected to close after Warner Bros. spins off its Discovery Global business in the third quarter of 2026.
How will the deal impact streaming?
While Netflix has promised to continue Warner Bros. theatrical releases at the box office, all eyes are on how the deal will impact Netflix and WBD’s HBO Max.
They are currently the No. 1 and No. 4 streaming services in the world, with roughly 300 million subscribers and 130 million, respectively.
HBO Max trails behind India’s JioHotStar in the second slot and Amazon Prime in third.
During a call on Friday, Netflix execs stressed that the deal will ultimately create more choice and value for consumers — giving subscribers more bang for their buck with a larger suite of titles, though it was not immediately clear how subscription prices might change, if at all.
“[Netflix] has a number of options here,” Hanna Howard, research analyst at Gabelli Funds, said in a note on Friday.
It could potentially “follow Disney’s model, which runs both Disney+ and Hulu combined, but the two streaming apps are also available separately, with Disney offering the subscription as a bundle.”
Howard said she expects there will be increased flexibility and bundle offerings if the deal goes through as Netflix seeks to escape regulatory scrutiny.
Netflix will also assume WBD’s other brands and properties, like DC Comics, “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones” and a slew of video games, “which will give Netflix a way to compete against other large players, i.e., Disney’s franchise,” Howard added.
Along with major film studios and its namesake theme parks, Disney also owns several streaming services, including Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.
What is the stock doing?
Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery jumped 3.5% on Friday, while Netflix’s stock dipped 0.9% as the deal is expected to face intense regulatory scrutiny from officials in the US and overseas.
Paramount – which also placed bids to take over WBD along with Netflix and Comcast – bashed a potential Netflix merger in a letter to Warner Bros. earlier this week.
Paramount chief David Ellison met with Trump officials and key lawmakers in Washington, DC, earlier this week to argue that Netflix’s offer must be discounted because of the uncertainty it brings, The Post reported.
Even with a Netflix deal in the works, the billionaire Ellison family at Paramount is planning to plead directly with WBD shareholders, arguing the Netflix deal will be halted by regulators, The Post previously found.
Senior White House officials have already met to discuss antitrust concerns about a potential WBD-Netflix merger, The Post reported.
On Thursday, a group of anonymous filmmakers sent a letter to Congress with “grave concerns” about a Netflix deal, arguing the streaming giant would “effectively hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace,” according to Variety.
In a Thursday post on X, former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar wrote: “If I was tasked with doing so, I could not think of a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling WBD to Netflix.”
Netflix has been planning to argue there is no evidence that the deal would reduce competition or harm consumers, since they could offer a Netflix-and-HBO Max bundle that would ultimately cost less, a source familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
What else does Warner Bros. own?
Along with its namesake film and TV studios, WBD also owns HBO Max and DC Studios, and tons of popular franchises like “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones,” “Harry Potter,” “Friends” and “The Wizard of Oz.”
Its Discovery Global business – which is being spun off and will not be included in the deal – includes global cable networks and digital businesses like CNN, Discovery and Discovery+, TNT Sports and Bleacher Report.
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