Netflix has won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studios assets in a blockbuster deal that could reshape Hollywood, alter the economics of streaming, and further complicate the future of movie theaters. If approved, the $72 billion acquisition would give Netflix control of HBO Max, HBO, Warner Bros. Studios, and a deep library that includes franchises such as DC Comics, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter.
A $72 billion bet on scale
According to Netflix’s announcement, the company will pay an equity value of $72 billion, or about $82.7 billion in total enterprise value, for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and movie studios business. NBC News noted that WBD’s total market value is around $60 billion. The purchase comes after WBD completes its planned split into two companies: Warner Bros., which will hold the film and TV libraries and HBO, and Discovery Global, which will house the company’s other TV networks, including CNN and TBS. That separation is expected to finish in the third quarter of 2026.
The deal still needs regulatory approval, shareholder approval, and other customary closing conditions. Netflix said it expects the acquisition to increase subscribers and engagement, while also delivering “at least $2–3 billion of cost savings per year by the third year.”
In a statement, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company will use its global reach and business model to bring Warner Bros. content to “a broader audience.” The announcement did not say what the acquisition means for current Warner Bros. Discovery leadership, including president and CEO David Zaslav. WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels is expected to become CEO of Discovery Global after the split.
Netflix would control HBO Max and a major rival
If regulators sign off, the acquisition would turn Netflix from the streaming market leader into an even larger entertainment powerhouse. Netflix said it had 301.63 million subscribers as of January, making it the world’s largest streaming service by subscribers. WBD, meanwhile, has 128 million streaming subscribers, most of them HBO Max users.
Netflix said it plans to incorporate content from Warner Bros. Studios, HBO Max, and HBO into Netflix. Variety reported that HBO Max is expected to remain available as a separate service, at least for now. But that could be temporary. Industry watchers are already speculating that Netflix may eventually bundle Netflix and HBO Max, then later consolidate them into a single product at a higher price, following a model similar to Disney’s bundles of Disney+ and Hulu.
For consumers, the upside could be simpler access to more content in fewer apps. The downside is that Netflix would gain even more leverage as both a distributor and rights holder, which could eventually affect pricing and competition across the streaming market.
In its latest earnings report, WBD’s streaming business posted $45 million in quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Netflix reported quarterly net income of $2.55 billion in its most recent earnings report.
The theater question is far from settled
The movie theater industry is likely to be among the loudest critics of the deal. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has repeatedly expressed skepticism about traditional theatrical distribution. In April, he said that making movies “for movie theaters, for the communal experience” is “an outmoded idea.”
Yet today Sarandos said that all Warner Bros. movies will still be released in theaters as planned, with that arrangement extending through 2029, according to Variety. On a conference call, he said he had no “opposition to movies in theaters,” while criticizing long exclusive theatrical windows as not consumer-friendly. He added that keeping HBO operating “largely as it is” also includes Warner Bros.’ output movie deal, which starts with a theatrical release and will continue to be supported.
He also said, “Netflix movies will take the same strides they have, which is, some of them do have a short run in the theater beforehand.”
Theater owners are not convinced. Michael O’Leary, CEO and president of Cinema United, the largest exhibition trade group, said regulators need to examine the deal closely and understand its negative effect on consumers, exhibition, and the entertainment industry. And in a letter sent to members of Congress this month, an anonymous group calling itself “concerned feature film producers” warned that the acquisition would “effectively hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace” by reducing theatrical releases and lowering post-theatrical licensing fees, according to Variety.
Regulatory scrutiny is the next hurdle
The deal now heads into a period of antitrust scrutiny and political pressure. Recent media mergers have faced questions about whether companies are trying to win favor with US President Donald Trump to get approvals. Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery may face similar suspicion.
The US Department of Justice could move to block the acquisition, though there is precedent for major media deals surviving such challenges. In 2017, Time Warner and AT&T successfully defeated the DOJ’s effort to stop their merger.
Still, resistance is already building. Last month, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote to the DOJ’s antitrust division, urging that any Warner Bros. deal “is grounded in the law, not President Trump’s political favoritism.” In a separate letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) said buying Warner Bros. would “enhance” Netflix’s “unequaled market power” and be “presumptively problematic under antitrust law.”
In a statement shared by NBC News, a spokesperson for the California attorney general’s office said the DOJ believes further consolidation in markets central to American economic life — including broadcasting and entertainment — does not serve consumers, competition, or the broader economy well.
Netflix’s rivals may also try to intervene. Attorneys for Paramount have already questioned the “fairness and adequacy” of Warner Bros. Discovery’s sales process.
For now, the industry is left with a deal that could expand streaming convenience, strengthen Netflix’s position, and still leave theaters in the crossfire. The real impact will depend on whether regulators let the acquisition proceed — and, if they do, how Netflix chooses to balance streaming dominance with its new role as steward of one of Hollywood’s most valuable studios.
Source: Original report
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Last Modified: July 7, 2026 at 9:23 pm
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