Netflix has publicly endorsed the Warner Bros Discovery board’s decision to maintain its merger agreement with the streaming giant, after directors rejected a competing takeover proposal from Paramount and Skydance. The move confirms that Netflix’s $82.7bn bid remains the only live offer for one of Hollywood’s most powerful studio groups. In its coverage of the decision, The WP Times notes that the announcement removes months of uncertainty over the future ownership of Warner Bros, HBO and HBO Max and shifts the focus of the deal squarely onto regulatory approval, which will now determine the fate of what could become one of the most consequential media mergers of the decade.
The transaction, agreed in December, values Warner Bros Discovery at $27.75 per share in a cash-and-stock structure. If completed, Netflix would gain control of Warner’s film and television studios, its premium HBO brands and a vast catalogue of global franchises. At the same time, WBD’s cable and factual networks are set to be separated into a new company, Discovery Global, before the merger closes, a step designed to reduce regulatory and financial complexity.
Why the Warner board chose Netflix over Paramount
After reviewing the alternative proposal from Paramount and Skydance, WBD’s directors concluded that Netflix offered greater certainty of funding, a higher valuation and a clearer long-term industrial logic. In practical terms, Netflix brings a global platform with nearly 300 million subscribers, something no traditional Hollywood studio can replicate.
From the board’s perspective, the Netflix deal also reduces execution risk. Paramount and Skydance would have required complex financing and further asset sales, while Netflix can fund the acquisition directly from its balance sheet and equity.
Key factors behind the board’s decision included:
- a higher and more transparent valuation for WBD shareholders
- Netflix’s ability to close the deal without external financing
- global distribution for Warner’s franchises on a single platform
- lower long-term business risk compared with a smaller studio merger
The rejection of the rival bid effectively ends a rare bidding contest for a major US studio and gives Netflix a clear path forward, subject only to regulatory clearance.
What the $82.7bn deal means for streaming and Hollywood
If approved, the merger would redraw the boundaries between content producers and distributors. Netflix would no longer be just a buyer of Hollywood output but the owner of one of its most important production engines. Warner Bros, HBO and Netflix would operate inside the same corporate group, bringing together theatrical releases, prestige television and global streaming under a single management structure.
This level of vertical integration has become increasingly common in the technology sector but remains highly sensitive in media. Regulators in the US and the European Union will assess whether Netflix’s ownership of HBO and Warner’s studios could weaken competition in premium drama, film licensing and international rights markets.
For viewers, the deal could eventually lead to more exclusive releases on Netflix and a deeper integration of Warner franchises into its streaming ecosystem. For competitors such as Disney, Amazon and Apple, it increases pressure to scale up their own content operations or pursue mergers of their own.
The approval process is expected to take between 12 and 18 months, with final decisions resting on antitrust authorities rather than corporate boards. But with Warner’s directors now firmly behind Netflix and no competing bidder left, the future shape of the global entertainment industry is moving closer to being decided.
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