Netflix enters exclusive talks to buy Warner Bros

CALIFORNIA: Netflix has entered exclusive negotiations to buy Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios and the HBO Max streaming service, according to a Bloomberg report. The move suggests the streamer has outpaced Paramount Skydance and Comcast in one of the media industry’s most hard-fought auctions.

Netflix has offered a $5bn break-up fee if regulators block the deal, the report said. A formal agreement could emerge within days, assuming the talks hold. Before any sale closes, Warner Bros. Discovery will proceed with its planned spinoff of cable assets including CNN, TBS and TNT.

A deal would mark a dramatic pivot for Netflix, which has shunned major acquisitions during its rise to become the world’s dominant paid-streaming platform. It would also unite the world’s largest streaming service with one of Hollywood’s oldest studios, bringing HBO, The Sopranos, The White Lotus, the Harry Potter franchise and the Friends library under the Netflix banner.

The bidding process has been fractious. Paramount accused Warner of running a “tainted” auction tilted towards Netflix, while arguing that its own offer faced fewer regulatory obstacles. Comcast also tabled bids.

Warner, valued at more than $60bn, has been hit by a sharp decline in its traditional TV networks, which reported a 23 per cent fall in quarterly revenue as viewers and advertisers continued to drift to streaming.

Netflix, founded nearly three decades ago as a DVD-by-post service, ended 2024 with $39bn in revenue and a market value of about $437bn. Warner Bros., founded in the 1920s, generated a similar $39bn in annual sales.