On Friday, Netflix announced it’s intent to acquire the Warner Bros’ film and television studios, along with the cable channel HBO and HBO Max from Warner Bros Discovery.
Below is everything known so far about the deal.
-Netflix outbid Paramount Skydance, and Comcast to acquire Warner Bros Discovery
-The deal has not been final or gone through just yet. It still needs approval from Warner Bros Discovery shareholders and the Security Exchange Commission. Furthermore, The agreement will face antitrust scrutiny in both the United States and Europe. Ahead of the announcement, Paramount Skydance sent several letters to WBD, sharing concerns about the bidding process and calling it unfair.
-The total value of the deal is $82.7 billion (enterprise value), in which Netflix will only acquire Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO, and HBO Max
-Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders will get $27.75 per WBD share ($23.25 in cash + $4.50 in Netflix stock), with the equity value at $72 billion
-Warner Bros Discovery’s Global Networks division is not part of this deal. Netflix will own Warner Bros’ studios and the streaming division, whereas WBD’s Global Networks division will spin off into a publicly traded entity – Discovery Global, which will own cable networks such as CNN, HGTV, TBS, TNT and the Discovery Channel.
-The acquisition is expected to be completed in the next 12-18 months, which would make it around the third quarter of 2026
-Should the agreement fall through and not happen, Netflix must then pay a $5.8 billion reverse breakup fee to Warner Bros. Discovery
-If Warner Bros Discovery decides to back out of the deal, they must pay a $2.8 billion breakup fee to Netflix
-If the deal goes through, the purchase will give Netflix, already the largest streamer, with more than 300 million subscribers and will a more larger scale by bringing in HBO Max’s library and it’s 128 million subscribers
-Netflix’s expected savings on this deal by year three is said to be $2-3 billion annually, with the company noting the deal will enhance their studio capabilities and expand production in the US by creating more entertainment industry jobs.
As it pertains to AEW on TBS and TNT, nothing would change with the Discovery Global side of things. The new deal between AEW and WBD, which includes AEW programming on HBO Max runs through 2027, with an option year for 2028. Netflix would need to honor that under existing contracts they acquire. However, after that as it pertains to AEW and their future on HBO Max would be up to Netflix, as they would still be in the midst of their 10-year, $5 billion dollar deal with WWE for Raw.
During Friday evening’s ROH Final Battle post-show media scrum, AEW/ROH owner Tony Khan said the following when asked about the Netflix/WBD deal.
“First of all, it’s early to comment on anything that’s pending. Without getting into anything that has yet to be determined, I just want to say we have a great partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery and it will continue for many years to come. We have years left on our remaining agreement with TBS and HBO Max. I’m really proud of what we’ve built and I think it’s going to be for a long time to come. It’s going to be like this with Warner Brothers Discovery before anything is settled out. I’m very excited for the future. I think we have great partnerships. What I can say, from the things that are public knowledge, all of the bidders on Warner Brothers Discovery are media partners of the National Football League and great media partners of ours. Everybody who has been in the running for this is somebody we work with on the NFL, so I have a lot of respect for all of them. We work closely with all three bidders in the mix and we’ll see what happens. I have only positive things to say about Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery. I can tell you for sure, at least until the very end of 2027, going into 2028, we’re going to be here for years and years to come, over two more years with AEW on TBS, TNT, and HBO Max. I’m very excited about it.”
Sources: Fightful and Adweek.com