Name: Netflix and Paramounts bidding war over Warner Bros, explained
Uploaded: 2025-12-12T09:53:33.320Z
Duration: 5 min
Description: Is anyone ever going to prioritize the art of cinema or are we asking for too much?

Is anyone ever going to prioritize the art of cinema or are we asking for too much?

California

Netflix announced an $82.7 billion agreement to acquire Warner Bros., outbidding Paramount's initial offer. However, Paramount has since launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid, intensifying the competition for the storied media company and its extensive assets, including HBO, DC, and major film franchises.

The acquisition, which still requires regulatory approval and is expected to take 12 to 18 months, has raised concerns among industry professionals and unions about potential job losses and changes to film distribution. Warner Bros. Discovery will spin off its global networks division during this period, and both Netflix and HBO Max will continue operating separately for now.

Netflix and Paramount's bidding war over Warner Bros, explained

Who is going to own Warner Brothers, and why are all the media companies fighting? Here's what you need to know. On Friday, December 5th, Netflix announced that it would be acquiring Warner Brothers in a deal worth $82.7 billion. That made them the winners of a bidding war that kicked off in September, when Paramount just out of nowhere went, hey, Warner Brothers, mind if I buy you? But Paramount's not quitting just yet. On Monday, December 8th, Paramount launched its own hostile takeover bid of Warner Brothers with an offer worth $108.4 billion. What's going on? Why is everyone going after Warner Brothers, and how is this going to impact TV and film going forward? Let's break it down. Think of the entertainment landscape as an ocean ecosystem. We've got two sharks, Netflix and Paramount, fighting over a juicy Warner Brothers octopus with a bunch of different tentacles. Warner Brothers Pictures, Warner Brothers TV, HBO, HBO Max, franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Looney Tunes, DC, The MonsterVerse, recent movie hits like Sitters, Dune, and Barbie, beloved classics like Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, Streetcar Named Desire, whichever shark snaps up Warner Brothers gets all of that, and future productions. As of now, the winning shark is still Netflix, and that deal is a shock to the system for the entertainment industry. This is a streaming service buying a storied legacy media brand, and that creates a lot of uncertainty about film and TV going forward. What will streaming and theatrical releases look like? What will happen to HBO and HBO Max? Right now, nothing. The USSEC still needs to approve the deal, and Netflix expects that the acquisition will take 12 to 18 months to go through. During that time, Warner Brothers Discovery will be spinning off its global networks division including CNN, TNT, and The Discovery Channel into a new publicly traded company. Netflix also confirmed in an email to subscribers that nothing is changing today. Both streaming services will continue to operate separately. However, after the merger, I'd guess Netflix, HBO Max streaming bundles would be pretty likely in the same vein as Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN bundles. And how about the moviegoing experience? After all, Netflix is a streaming service first. It doesn't prioritize theatrical releases. Could we be limited to watching the next Dune or Superman on teeny little screens? Again, not yet. Warner Brothers has contracts to release films theatrically until 2029, and the SEC filing for the deal says that Netflix expects to maintain Warner Brothers' current operations and build on its strengths, including theatrical releases for films. So no streaming jail for Dune. That being said, theatrical release windows could get shorter under Netflix, similar to Netflix's limited releases of its own films. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has spoken about long-exclusive windows in theaters not being consumer-friendly, and that over time, the windows will evolve to be much more consumer-friendly to be able to meet the audience where they are quicker. The future of theatrical releases is a big source of anxiety for Hollywood. A group of industry A-listers is reportedly lobbying Congress about the deal. Hollywood unions are also expressing their worries. The Directors Guild of America says the deal raises significant concerns, while the Writers Guild of America says this merger must be blocked. According to the WGA, the merger will result in fewer jobs, worse conditions for workers in the entertainment industry, and less volume and diversity in titles released. Aside from the streaming-specific angle, these concerns also apply to the idea of a Paramount-Warner Brothers merger as well. Paramount already underwent a merger of its own this year, joining with Skydance Media. Sidebar, that's the merger Stephen Colbert criticized on The Late Show three days before the series got canceled. Donald Trump sued CBS over a 60-minute interview with Kamala Harris, and Paramount settled with him for $16 million. Colbert called the settlement a big fat bribe so that Trump's administration would approve the merger. CBS then called the cancellation a purely financial decision. Now, I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's big fat bribe. Paramount-Skydance laid off 2,000 employees following its merger, echoing the layoffs of the 2022 WarnerMedia-Discovery merger and the 2019 Disney 21st Century Fox acquisition. In the end, these transactions are tales as old as time, and they're always about the money and never about the actual art on the line. Warner Bros. Discovery is actually the perfect case study. Following the 2022 merger, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled completed films and TV shows. Batgirl never saw the light of day. That's a full-on superhero movie. Coyote vs. Acme got shelved. Thankfully, it was acquired by Ketchup Entertainment this year, but Warner Bros. cancelling a Looney Tunes movie? The Looney Tunes are Warner Bros. Westworld got yanked from HBO Max. Do you know how crazy that is? That was a 9pm tentpole HBO show, and now it's just gone from their library. The point is, Warner Bros., like so many other media companies, has a vast and incredible catalog of titles. Ideally, whoever wins this bidding war will be the company that's best equipped to respect these films and shows, and shepherd them for new and returning audiences. But, given the history of similar mergers, and given Netflix and Paramount's recent track record, I'm not sure I'm holding my breath.

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Rise of AI

Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as person of the year for 2025

Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Council of the City of Sydney

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

As tensions rise with Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump said land operations could start "pretty soon." Sources tell CBS News the administration is also planning more tanker seizures.

Washington

Trump says Venezuela land operations could begin 'pretty soon'

One day after capturing an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, the U.S. has sanctioned three of Nicolas Maduro's nephews, along with six other oil tankers.

Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro with new sanctions

The EU has decided to keep the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised for the foreseeable future. The ban, which is based on a provision for economic emergencies, pushes back against external attempts to release the €210 billion in assets before Ukraine is compensated.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

EU triggers emergency clause to indefinitely immobilise Russian assets

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she planned to take her award back to Venezuela, but declined to say when she would return to her home country after leaving in great secrecy to receive the honor.

Caracas

Nobel peace laureate Machado vows to take award home to Venezuela

Japanese authorities are assessing damage after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, followed by multiple aftershocks. In response, officials have issued a warning about the possibility of a megaquake, defined as a magnitude 8.0 or higher event.

Tokyo

Japan alerts citizens about possible megaquake

A Maryland judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from ICE custody. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and was later detained for potential deportation to another country.

Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate release from ICE custody

About 500,000 people are fleeing renewed clashes on the Thailand-Cambodia border. Over a dozen were killed as fighting shatters a US-Malaysia-brokered peace deal amid a decades-old temple land dispute.

Samraong

Half a million flee as Thailand-Cambodia border clashes escalate

The U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

Trump confirms seizing of Venezuelan oil tanker

The U.S. House has approved a bill to end all Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, sparking cautious optimism in Damascus as the measure moves closer to becoming law.

U.S. House votes to lift Caesar Act sanctions on Syria

Myanmar's military bombs a hospital in western Rakhine state, at least 31 people are killed and dozens injured.

Rakhine

Air strike in Myanmar killed at least 31 people, dozens injured

The U.S. military seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship had been used to violate sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. seizes oil tanker off Venezuela coast

The daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf in Oslo, Norway. Machado, who lives in hiding in Venezuela, is set to make an address on Thursday.

Oslo

Venezuela's Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize in absentia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is commenting on potential elections in Ukraine under certain conditions. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst joins CBS News with more on the war against Russia.

Kyiv

Zelenskyy prepared to hold elections after Trump questions motive

A renewed outbreak of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has derailed a US-brokered peace agreement, with cross-border shelling and air raids forcing more than half a million civilians to flee their homes.

Bangkok

Border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia flares up again

U.S. immigration agents used pepper spray against protesters in Minneapolis on Tuesday as residents blocked the officers’ vehicles and forced them to leave the area.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis protests erupt over ICE operation targeting Somalis

In Australia, millions of kids' social media profiles are going dark, as the country's new social media ban takes effect for anyone under 16. Jo Ling Kent reports.

Canberra

Australia's social media ban takes effect for kids under 16

President Trump, in recent months, has dismissed concerns about affordability, but this evening, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, he is focusing on the crisis and touting his administration's efforts to lower the cost of living. Nancy Cordes has more.

Pennsylvania

Trump tries to flip the script on affordability

Dozens of protesters blocked a highway near Tel Aviv to demonstrate against moves by the Israeli government to force some ultra-Orthodox Jews into mandatory military service, something they are currently exempt from so they can study the Torah full time.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Bill over ultra-Orthodox military conscription sparks protests in Israel

President Trump has told Politico that Nicolas Maduro's "days are numbered" in Venezuela. Political strategists Kevin Sheridan and Hyma Moore join with analysis.

Trump says Maduro’s “days are numbered”

The FBI has released a new photo of former Olympian Ryan Wedding, whom the bureau’s director has described as a “modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” The ex-skier and snowboarder remains at large as agents continue their search.

FBI releases new photo of alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Pope Leo XIV and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Tuesday (December 9), meanwhile voicing his refusal to surrender territory to Moscow despite pressure from Washington for territorial concessions.

Rome

Zelenskyy seeks backing from Pope Leo XIV, Italian PM Meloni

A federal judge said Tuesday (December 9) that the Department of Justice can unseal the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case records. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane has more details.

Judge says DOJ can unseal Ghislaine Maxwell trafficking case records

Prosecutors on Monday (December 8) released new evidence seized from Luigi Mangione on the day of his arrest. He is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year ago and has pleaded not guilty.

Manhattan

New evidence introduced in Luigi Mangione case

The EU antitrust enforcer has opened an investigation into the U.S. tech giant over its use of online content to power its AI services, a move that threatens to ratchet up transatlantic relations.

Brussels

EU Commission opens probe into Google over AI

The U.S. government said the approval, which comes in exchange for a 25% surcharge, would also be available to other chipmakers like Intel and AMD.

Trump gives Nvidia green light to sell H200 chips to China

Ukraine is set to present a revised peace plan to the United States on Tuesday following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s talks in London with the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain.

London

Ukraine to share revised peace plan with U.S., Zelenskiy says

The International Criminal Court Tuesday handed down a sentence of 20 years to a Sudanese militia leader for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country's civil war two decades ago.

Breakdown