Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery in an $82.7bn (£62bn) deal that will dramatically reshape the established Hollywood film and TV industry.
The streaming company will take control of WBD’s prize assets such as Warner Bros, the studio behind franchises including Harry Potter, Superman and Batman, as well as HBO, home to shows including Game of Thrones, The White Lotus and Succession.
Netflix will also get hold of an extensive TV archive that includes classics such as Friends, which is scheduled to be removed from Netflix at the end of the year, and The Big Bang Theory.
“The combination of Netflix and Warner Bros creates a better Netflix for the long run,” said Ted Sarandos, a co-chief executive of Netflix. “In a world where people have so many choices, more choices than ever on how to spend their time, we can’t stand still.”
The mostly cash deal, which values WBD at $72bn excluding debt, will close after the studio spins off its cable channels, which include CNN, TBS and TNT, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of next year.
However, Netflix will gain control of TNT Sports UK & Ireland, which broadcasts Premier League and Champions League football and international rugby matches, as it is not among the TV assets due to be spun off from WBD.
The streamer has offered a $5.8bn breakup fee if the deal fails to gain regulatory clearance, while WBD will pay Netflix $2.8bn if it delays or calls off the deal.
Netflix had been in competition with rival takeover bids from Paramount Skydance and Comcast, which owns assets including Universal Studios, the US news network NBC and Sky.
Analysts have warned that the deal could spark competition concerns as it would result in the combination of two of the biggest streaming services in the US.
Netflix has given assurances that it will continue to allow the Warner Bros film studio to continue to have wide cinematic releases.
Netflix said it expected to make at least $2bn to $3bn in annual savings by the third year after the deal closes.
“The handshake is the easy bit, getting it past regulators is likely to be considerably more difficult, especially when you consider the political temperature,” said Danni Hewson, the head of financial analysis at AJ Bell. “How much of those savings get passed to streaming platform subscribers, or whether Netflix will be seen to have too much pricing power, is one of the areas that will face a huge amount of scrutiny in the coming months.”
WBD has already negotiated its theatrical release slate through until the end of 2029, so any buyer would at the least have to honour those obligations until they come up for renewal.
“For more than a century Warner Bros has thrilled audiences,” said David Zaslav, the chief executive of WBD. “By coming together with Netflix, we will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come.”
Warner Bros formally put itself up for sale in October after receiving interest from several parties.
Jason Kilar, who ran Warner Bros before its merger with Discovery, said in a post on X that he “could not think of a better way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling WBD to Netflix”.
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If I was tasked with doing so, I could not think of a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling WBD to Netflix
— Jason Kilar (@jasonkilar) December 4, 2025
Paramount, run by David Ellison and bankrolled by his billionaire father and Oracle founder, Larry, had been seen as the early frontrunner. The group, whose assets include Channel 5 in the UK, had also offered a $5bn termination fee if a deal was agreed but failed to get regulatory clearance.
Earlier this week, Paramount argued in a letter to Warner Bros that its bid was most likely to gain regulatory clearance.
Paramount accused Warner Bros of operating an unfair auction process that favoured Netflix. In the letter, the company called the process “tainted” because of conflicts at WBD, including some executives seeking roles after a deal closes.
The letter from litigation counsel to Zaslav accused the company of not following “the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process”, calling it “myopic … with a predetermined outcome that favours a single bidder”.
Paramount began its pursuit of WBD months after the completion of its $8.4bn takeover by Ellison’s Skydance and its investment partner RedBird Capital and was seeking to buy the entire company including all its cable networks.
According to reports, Donald Trump’s preference was for Paramount to triumph in the WBD takeover race because he liked the idea of Ellison, who already controls CBS, also controlling CNN.
Comcast and Paramount declined to comment.
