{"id":38884,"date":"2025-12-05T07:01:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T07:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=38884"},"modified":"2025-12-05T07:01:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T07:01:33","slug":"warner-bros-in-exclusive-talks-with-netflix-about-studio-and-streaming-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=38884","title":{"rendered":"Warner Bros in exclusive talks with Netflix about studio and streaming sale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\">Your guide to what Trump\u2019s second term means for Washington, business and the world<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=1b51ca71-9a86-46f5-bdc4-cbd6831b755f&amp;newsletter-id=65b8fec772badb00166eafc6\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Warner Bros Discovery has begun exclusive talks with Netflix for a sale of the legendary Hollywood group\u2019s streaming and studio businesses, according to sources familiar with the auction.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix, Paramount and Comcast have spent the past week scrambling to convince the board \u2014 and indirectly, Washington regulators \u2014 that they offer the clearest path forward.\u00a0The bidding kicked off in November, with many Hollywood observers viewing Paramount, led by David Ellison and backed by his billionaire father Larry, as the frontrunner. <\/p>\n<p>But Netflix has put forward the highest offer for WBD\u2019s studio and streaming business, according to people involved in the process.<\/p>\n<p>The streaming pioneer, which has disrupted the traditional film business and drawn the ire of many in Hollywood, is attracted to Warner Bros assets including HBO and its extensive library of films and television.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix has also surprised many in Hollywood by offering assurances that it would continue to allow Warner Bros films to enjoy wide cinematic releases. <\/p>\n<p>However, antitrust specialists warn a Netflix <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/mergers-acquisitions\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">deal<\/a> could be difficult to approve, given it would combine two of the top US streaming platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>People close to the Trump administration\u2019s regulatory officials have privately echoed that concern.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix\u2019s bid continues to face rising resistance inside Hollywood. James Cameron, the famed director of <em>Titanic, The Terminator <\/em>and the Avatar series, warned this week that selling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/stream\/8241c076-3edc-48bd-90b0-6b051978b996\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">Warner Bros<\/a> to the streaming giant would trigger \u201ca catastrophic loss of long-term value\u201d for the industry. Other top talent have expressed similar unease, according to people familiar with the conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite those tensions, WBD chief executive David Zaslav favours a merger with Netflix, partly because he would retain operational independence, a crucial consideration as he seeks to preserve his influence in Hollywood, according to people briefed about the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Paramount has made a slightly lower offer for WBD, according to people familiar with the matter. However, the group stunned rivals by committing to pay WBD a $5bn termination fee if the deal is agreed but not completed \u2014 a move that reflects its confidence that its bid could clear regulators swiftly.<\/p>\n<p>People close to the Trump administration say the US president prefers a Paramount merger, as he likes the idea of CNN, now owned by WBD, and Paramount-owned CBS being controlled by the Ellisons.<\/p>\n<p>Still, a Paramount takeover presents complications for Zaslav. Paramount has offered the WBD leader a co-chief executive role in the newly formed company, a role he does not find attractive, according to people familiar with the matter. Netflix would allow him to retain sole control of the Warner studio. But people briefed on the matter say the WBD board is not chiefly concerned with Zaslav\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>Comcast, meanwhile, is seen as slipping out of contention, though people close to the company insist it remains \u201cvery much in the mix\u201d. They argue that the regulatory case for a Comcast-Warner Bros combination is cleaner than portrayed and reject the idea that Trump could sink the deal out of personal animus.<\/p>\n<aside aria-labelledby=\"aside-label\" class=\"n-content-recommended--single-story n-content-recommended--inset\" data-component=\"recommended\">\n<p class=\"n-content-recommended__title o3-type-body-highlight\">Recommended<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser o-teaser--article o-teaser--small o-teaser--stacked o-teaser--has-image o-teaser--opinion js-teaser\" data-id=\"5a3fe5c7-f1b9-4dc6-a97a-f241b5f0eed1\">\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-container js-teaser-image-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5a3fe5c7-f1b9-4dc6-a97a-f241b5f0eed1\" data-trackable=\"image-link\" data-trackable-context-story-link=\"image-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-placeholder\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2290\/1289\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Bloomberg first reported that Netflix was in exclusive talks with WBD.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison began pursuing WBD only weeks after closing an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/b0771100-9180-4a73-adb4-38595aa8c15c\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">$8bn acquisition<\/a> of Paramount this year, as he makes an ambitious push to build a Hollywood empire with the backing of his father, one of the wealthiest people in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Acquiring WBD \u2014 which owns the movie studio, HBO and franchises including Harry Potter, DC Comics and Batman \u2014 would help Paramount compete against larger rivals such as Netflix and Amazon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Any deal would dramatically reshape Hollywood, which has suffered thousands of lay-offs in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>WBD and Paramount did not respond to requests for comment. Netflix and Comcast declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/1b51ca71-9a86-46f5-bdc4-cbd6831b755f\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump\u2019s second term means for Washington,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}