Netflix seemed to have a clear path to acquiring Warner Bros., but Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid has thrown that into question.
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Is Netflix still buying Warner Bros.? Paramount’s $77.9 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. on Monday, less than three days after Netflix struck its agreement, has thrown the future of the deal, and of media generally, into uncertainty.
The main argument from Paramount Skydance, which had pursued Warner Bros. vigorously before it reached the Netflix deal, is that shareholders would be better off with its cash-only bid. It has also implied that it would have a better chance of gaining regulatory approval, in no small part due to Paramount CEO David Ellison’s cozy relationship with the Trump administration.
So where does the Netflix deal stand now, and where will Warner Bros. end up? It may take a few days before the answer becomes clear, but media circles remain abuzz about the potential implications of all this consolidation.
“This type of consolidation raises serious questions about competition and consumer choice. When dominant platforms start absorbing other major content players, it naturally limits the diversity of voices and viewpoints available to audiences,” notes Vikrant Mathur, Co-Founder of Future Today, which works with connected TV creators and advertisers. “We’ve seen regulatory scrutiny intensify in other sectors, and streaming is overdue for the same rigor.”
To wit, Paramount and Skydance completed an $8 billion merger earlier this year, putting the owner of CBS and onetime cable television behemoths MTV and VH1 under the purview of Ellison, the billionaire founder of Skydance. Several outlets have reported in recent days that Ellison has promised to make changes at Warner Bros.’s CNN, a network President Donald Trump loves to attack, should the hostile takeover go through.
Concerns arise about Warner Bros. media consolidation
Consolidation in one version of the deal offers the prospect of two of the biggest contributors to “prestige TV,” Netflix and Warner Bros.’s HBO, to live under the same roof—talk about Emmy domination. It could also combine the growing Netflix theater presence with Warner Bros.’s studios. A couple decades ago, those scenarios may have seemed unthinkable.
“What’s concerning is not just the size of these deals but the direction the industry is heading: fewer platforms, more gatekeeping, and higher barriers for independent creators and smaller networks,” says Mathur. “This goes against the original promise of streaming, which was about breaking free from bundled monopolies—not rebuilding them in digital form.”
Indeed, as many have joked in recent days, a Paramount deal for Warner Bros. would essentially just be the reinvention of cable television—you pay one price for all your favorite networks.
And as Mathur says, either deal could have serious consequences for creators. A smaller number of decisionmakers centralized in one company means fewer greenlights, and if you don’t already have access to those decisionmakers, it is harder to break in.
Impact on theaters in a Warner Bros. deal
Another question, if the Netflix bid moves forward, is how it could impact the formidable Warner Bros. studio releases. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. became the first studio to hit $4 billion at the global box office in 2025, reflecting a big slate that included Superman and Sinners. It marks the studio’s best year since 2019, though part of that was a huge drop in attendance due to the pandemic.
A Netflix-Warner Bros. deal could alter the focus of movie-making, though.
“If this deal goes through, it’s hard to imagine that Netflix won’t prioritize funneling more WBD content into its streaming pipeline — potentially at the expense of theatrical window,” says Mathur. “We’ve already seen traditional release strategies erode in favor of day-and-date drops or straight-to-streaming exclusives. For WBD, being folded into Netflix could shift focus away from theatrical distribution in favor of maximizing subscriber retention and streaming economics. That may streamline corporate strategy, but it risks weakening the theatrical experience for audiences.”