It turns out that Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t the only major Hollywood studio that Netflix tried to buy. 2025 is only weeks away from closing out, but one of the biggest stories following the entertainment industry right now is the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, as Paramount and Netflix are attempting to acquire the iconic brand.
However, after Netflix bid $82.7 billion for Warner Bros. Discovery, Bloomberg has revealed that the streaming titan was under heavy consideration to bid for Disney. Per the outlet, “Netflix management has debated pursuing just about every major asset put up for sale, including Electronic Arts Inc. and Fox. They had even debated acquiring Disney.”
However, executives were never able to “coalesce behind a deal,” as they also did not want to see damage done to their stock price, “by overpaying for an asset that traded at a much lower multiple.” They reportedly “feared what a deal would signal to their investors.”
Since Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery emerged, Paramount has countered with a hostile counter-bid of $108.4 billion. However, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters were prepared for this type of response, stating, “Today’s move was entirely expected. We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal.”
They elaborated by adding that they “think it’s great for our shareholders. It’s great for consumers. We think it’s a great way to create and protect jobs in the entertainment industry. We’re super confident we’re going to get it across the line and finish.” After Netflix and Paramount’s respective bids, the Warner Bros. Discovery board of Directors issued this statement:
“The Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors (the ‘Board’), consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, will carefully review and consider Paramount Skydance’s offer in accordance with the terms of Warner Bros. Discovery’s agreement with Netflix, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery intends to advise its stockholders of the Board’s recommendation regarding Paramount Skydance’s tender offer within 10 business days.”
If the Netflix deal for Warner Bros. Discovery goes through, they will own major properties like DC, Harry Potter, Looney Tunes, and many more. While there has been a lot of commentary by Hollywood about their concern for what this will look like for theatrical, if Netflix owns Warner Bros. Discovery, Sarandos has shared the following:
We didn’t buy this company to destroy that value. We’re deeply committed to releasing [Warner Bros.] movies exactly the way they release those movies today. If we did this deal 24 months ago, all those movies we saw this year do so well at the box office for Warner Bros. would have been released in the same way in theaters, talking about ‘Minecraft,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘Weapons,’ ‘Sinners,’ All those movies. With the Warner Bros. operating entity, we think it’s really important the way that they create and the way that they drive value.
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- founded
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January 16, 2007
- founders
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Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
- first original series
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Lilyhammer
- notable shows
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Stranger Things, Squid Game, House of Cards, Wednesday
- notable movies
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KPop Demon Hunters, Bird Box, Red Notice
Netflix is a global streaming service offering on-demand access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content. Founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service, it transitioned to streaming in 2007 and now operates in over 190 countries.
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