Netflix announced it will acquire Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion following the separation of Discovery from the company.
In a press release, Netflix stated it "entered into a definitive agreement under which Netflix will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO.”
It added, “The cash and stock transaction is valued at $27.75 per WBD share (subject to a collar as detailed below), with a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion (equity value of $72.0 billion). The transaction is expected to close after the previously announced separation of WBD’s Global Networks division, Discovery Global, into a new publicly-traded company, which is now expected to be completed in Q3 2026.”
The deal gives Netflix control of The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Wizard of Oz and DC.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix. “By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
“This acquisition will improve our offering and accelerate our business for decades to come,” added Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix. “Warner Bros. has helped define entertainment for more than a century and continues to do so with phenomenal creative executives and production capabilities. With our global reach and proven business model, we can introduce a broader audience to the worlds they create—giving our members more options, attracting more fans to our best-in-class streaming service, strengthening the entire entertainment industry and creating more value for shareholders.”
“Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. “For more than a century, Warner Bros. has thrilled audiences, captured the world’s attention, and shaped our culture. By coming together with Netflix, we will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come.”
I remember years ago (12! apparently) when the Netflix CEO said "We want to become HBO faster than HBO can become us".
Even then, with all the success Netflix had, I don't think it was taken seriously. Of course, the big players were all going to get their streaming platforms going and crush the newcomer.
Then they spent tens of billions on garbage new content and overbuilt their walled little gardens fracturing the streaming concept into too many channels too quickly. On top of that, they destroyed their broadcast arms entirely with just dreck shows, DEI, oversaturated ads, and fake news.
All they ever really needed to do was give us an easy way to watch the overwhelming amount of back content already created while making reasonably budgeted and appealing new content, and they would have raked in the cash.
This just feels surreal.
$82.7B would buy you a LOT of new shows if you could budget appropriately. But instead they’d rather try to mine the same old stuff.