The Sale of Warner Bros. Discovery and the New Balance of the Global Audiovisual Industry

The long saga surrounding the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery is now entering its decisive weeks and has the potential to profoundly reshape the balance of the global audiovisual industry. After months of behind‑closed‑doors negotiations and public twists, the WBD board has chosen to back Netflix, rejecting increasingly aggressive bids from Paramount Skydance and defending a deal that, if completed, would redefine what is meant by a Hollywood “studio.”

In December 2025, Netflix announced an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming operations – the historic studio, HBO, the streaming service and its extensive IP library – at a price of 27.75 dollars per share, for a total enterprise value of around 82.7 billion dollars, including debt. The original structure combined cash and Netflix stock, alongside the spin‑off of cable and factual assets into a new standalone company, Discovery Global, which would remain separately listed. The transaction would merge the world’s leading global streaming player with one of the most recognizable studios, bringing under one roof franchises such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and the DC universe.

The arrival of Paramount Skydance on the scene, however, turned an already complex merger into a fully fledged public battle. Paramount, backed by Skydance and Ellison family capital, tabled a hostile bid of around 77.9 billion dollars for the whole of WBD, coupled with a very aggressive media campaign against the sale process, which it described as “tilted and unfair.” In a publicly released letter, the group accused WBD of favoring Netflix, called for the creation of an independent committee to evaluate the offers and urged shareholders to take a stand.

Netflix’s response has come in recent days with a move designed to deliver greater certainty and speed: the offer has been amended and turned into an all‑cash deal, maintaining the 27.75 dollars per share price but removing the stock component, for a value of roughly 72 billion dollars for the studio‑streaming perimeter. The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the revised agreement, stressing that the all‑cash structure increases value certainty for WBD shareholders and accelerates the path to a vote. Paramount, for its part, has not withdrawn its offensive: its subsidiary Prince Sub has extended beyond 21 January the deadline for its hostile tender offer at 30 dollars per share, buying time to persuade shareholders to reject the deal with Netflix and keeping open the option of a potential sweetened bid.

On the regulatory front, the European Union and other antitrust authorities will be called upon to rule on a transaction that would concentrate an impressive amount of content, data and bargaining power in a single player. For Hollywood, this marks a further step towards an ecosystem dominated by a small number of vertically integrated giants, with clear consequences for margins and the bargaining power of independent producers, talent and so‑called “secondary” territories. For Italy and Europe, where Warner and Netflix are already key partners in co‑productions and rights acquisition, the outcome of this battle could mean fewer but stronger buyers, with even more selective strategies on which stories, languages and talent to push on the global stage. In other words, as of 21 January, the struggle over Warner Bros. is not just about Los Angeles: it directly affects all those who, on the other side of the Atlantic, still want to meet Hollywood.

Sources: Apnews.com, Deadline, New York Post