Netflix’s $72B WB acquisition confounds the future of movie theaters, streaming

The bidding war is over, and Netflix has been declared the winner.

After flirting with Paramount Skydance and Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has decided to sell its streaming and movie studios business to Netflix. If approved, the deal is set to overturn the media landscape and create ripples that will affect Hollywood for years.

$72 billion acquisition

Netflix will pay an equity value of $72 billion, or an approximate total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, for Warner Bros. All of WBD has a $60 billion market value, NBC News notes.

The acquisition will take place after WBD completes the split of its streaming and studios businesses, which includes its film and TV libraries and the HBO channel, and its other TV networks, including CNN and TBS, into separate companies (Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, respectively). WBD’s split is expected to finish in Q3 2026.

Additionally, Netflix’s acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, WBD shareholder approval, and other “customary closing conditions.”

Netflix expects the purchase to net it more subscribers, higher engagement, and “at least $2–3 billion of cost savings per year by the third year,” its announcement said.

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said in a statement that Netflix will use its global reach and business model to bring WB content to “a broader audience.”

The announcement didn’t specify what this means for current WBD staff, including WBD’s current president and CEO, David Zaslav. Gunnar Wiedenfels, who is currently CFO of WBD, is expected to be the CEO of Discovery Global after WBD split.

Netflix to own HBO Max

Netflix will have to overcome regulatory hurdles to complete this deal, which would evolve it from a streaming king to an entertainment juggernaut. If completed, the world’s largest streaming service by subscribers (301.63 million as of January) will own its third biggest rival (WBD has 128 million streaming subscribers, most of which are HBO Max users).