Netflix Reportedly Wins Bidding War For Warner Bros. Discovery, Will Begin Talks For Exclusive Deal

Warner Bros. Discovery is headed toward Netflix’s hands with the streaming giant reportedly winning the bidding war for the company. Both Deadline and The Wrap report that Netflix has won the bidding war for the studio and will now start exclusive talks to finalize a deal.

Netflix was initially seen as unlikely to bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, who became an acquisition target for Paramount in September. The streamer was not viewed as a contender for the rights, having made statements suggesting they were not interested in mergers and acquisitions. That changed in late October.

WBD ended up having suitors in Paramount, Netflix, and Comcast. Paramount was interested in buying the entire company, while Netflix and Comcast were interested just in the studios and streaming division and not the networks. WBD announced plans to split the company in June.

Paramount made several offers that were rejected before WBD opened up to bids in November. Things turned ugly over the past 24 hours as Paramount sent a letter to WBD slamming Netflix and Comcast as potential buyers. Paramount called the process “unfair” and biased toward Netflix. They also declared that they will have an easier regulatory approval process. That ultimately did not sway WBD. The Wrap reports that according to sources, Netflix offered about $28 a share for WBD, mostly in cash.

There has been a lot of question in the wrestling world what this would mean. After all, Netflix is a partner with WWE, and WBD is AEW’s home. Netflix will not acquire the networks, though they will acquire HBO Max as well as Warner Bros. Studios. AEW is in the middle of a multi-year deal with WBD that sees it simulcast on both TNT/TBS and HBO Max. AEW PPVs are also offered at a discount through HBO Max. At the same time, Paramount has a deal with TKO to air UFC events on Paramount+ starting next year.

To be perfectly clear, this does not mean the matter is over. Exclusive talks do not guarantee a deal, and the regulatory process will be complicated. Paramount could conceivably take its own offer directly to WBD shareholders if they wanted to make the matter messier. It’s not clear if that would happen and whether Paramount would be able to match WBD’s offer if they did. It was reported by CNN that Paramount offered $27 a share, but again that was for the whole company.

If the deal does close, it will reshape the entertainment industry in myriad ways, both good and bad.