In a high-stakes investor call Friday morning, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos ramped up the sales pitch for the streaming giant's blockbuster $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets, declaring the company "highly confident in the regulatory process" and "running full speed" toward approval."
This deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, it’s pro-creator, it’s pro-growth, and our plans here are to work really closely with all the appropriate governments and regulators, but we’re really confident that we’re going to get all the necessary approvals that we need," Sarandos told investors, emphasizing the complementary nature of the businesses.
"These two businesses are complementary, and they’re also loved businesses, which is really fantastic."
The announcement, made just hours after Netflix sealed the deal in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at about $27.75 per Warner Bros. Discovery share, sent ripples through Hollywood and Wall Street. The acquisition—Netflix's largest ever—would merge the world's top streaming service, with over 300 million global subscribers, with Warner Bros.' iconic library of franchises like Harry Potter, Batman, Game of Thrones, and Friends, alongside HBO Max's 128 million users.
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters echoed Sarandos' optimism, calling the move a way to "improve our offering and accelerate our business for decades to come" by blending Warner's century-old production prowess with Netflix's digital distribution muscle.
The path to this mega-merger was anything but smooth, emerging from a cutthroat auction process that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) kicked off in October amid mounting debt, sluggish streaming growth, and a sagging stock price. WBD, formed from the 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, had planned to spin off its studio and streaming units from its legacy cable networks like CNN and TNT by mid-2026, creating a leaner entity focused on linear TV. But rival bids derailed that strategy.
Paramount Global, newly led by Skydance's David Ellison and backed by his billionaire father Larry Ellison, emerged as the early frontrunner with a $30-per-share offer that included a $5 billion termination fee and a potential executive role for WBD CEO David Zaslav. Comcast also threw its hat in the ring, eyeing Warner's assets to bolster its Peacock service. Yet Netflix, long viewed as a "builder not a buyer," swooped in with the winning $28-per-share bid, outmaneuvering competitors after weeks of escalating offers.
Sources described the process as "tainted" from Paramount's perspective, accusing WBD of favoring Netflix due to internal executive conflicts and a rushed timeline.
Critics, including former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, blasted the move on social media as "a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than I could imagine," warning of an economic crisis for independent filmmakers and exhibitors. Theater owners, from chains like AMC to indie operators, voiced alarm that even with theatrical promises, Netflix's day-and-date streaming model could erode box office revenue further.
If approved, this union would crown Netflix as a vertically integrated behemoth, blending Warner's $15 billion-plus annual content spend with Netflix's $17 billion war chest—dwarfing rivals like Disney and Amazon. It signals the tech insurgents' final conquest of legacy Hollywood, following Amazon's 2022 MGM buyout, and could spark a fresh merger wave among smaller players desperate to scale.