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 ...