Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced on 5 December 2025 that the former will buy the film and television production studios and streaming assets of the latter for USD 72 billion. Details reveal that the deal will include the acquisition of popular film and television franchises, classic movies and television shows, and other high-profile original series.
Explaining the Acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery By Netflix
The deal highlights major consolidation within the streaming sector, but it is not yet finalized. Several internal approval processes and regulatory assessments will decide whether Netflix can incorporate Warner content into its expanding entertainment ecosystem.
Background of the Ongoing Acquisition Process
The move translates to an attempt by the video streaming giant to combine its streaming reach with the massive intellectual property assets and production power of Warner Bros. Remember that Warner Bros. has huge libraries of content and real studio infrastructure. This will make Netflix one of the dominant forces in both streaming and production markets.
On the other hand, for its part, Warner Bros. Discovery has been planning to divest as early as the second quarter of 2024 due to financial pressure and a changing landscape. Paramount Skydance began exploring a full acquisition in September 2025 and made three failed bids in October, while Comcast explored a possible takeover of the studio and streaming assets.
Some of the popular titles and franchises owned by Warner Bros. Discovery include HBO original series like Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, the Batman and Justice League franchise under the DC Studios, the Wizarding World franchise, which includes Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, and all other content produced by different Warner film and TV studios.
Note that this deal does not include news networks and linear channels. Warner Bros. Discover is planning to split itself before the acquisition. This means that there is a plan to spin off specific networks and channels like CNN and the legacy Discovery network into separate business entities. The split is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2026.
It is also worth highlighting the fact that Netflix has not acquired Warner Bros. Discovery. The entire process is still ongoing because of the various requirements the acquirer and acquired need to meet. For example, only after the spin-off, shareholder approval, regulatory approval, and all other conditions are met will the acquisition be considered completed.
What Netflix has is a signed deal stating that the involved parties have agreed on the pricing and other conditions that need to be satisfied to get the deal done. This will be a tough and long process despite a closing target set somewhere in the third quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027. One of the biggest hurdles will be regulations pertaining to antitrust.
Pertinent Challenges to Acquisition Completion
The proposed acquisition is huge. Relevant governments and their regulatory bodies will naturally examine whether the deal will give Netflix huge power and unfair competitive advantage that will result in reduced competition in the entertainment production and streaming markets and limit consumer choices in either or both markets. This review is mandatory.
Moreover, the deal will be one of the largest consolidations ever in the production and streaming markets, potentially leading to only a few giant firms owning most entertainment. Regulators in the United States and the European Union will scrutinize the acquisition from multiple angles: subscription pricing, licensing and exclusivity, and vertical integration.
Another important hurdle is the integration of content onto Netflix. This means that all acquired content will not be readily usable even if the deal legally closes. Intellectual property transfer will involve thousands of titles, multiple countries, and multiple IP rights owners. This is a slow and long process because the IP transfer must be done title by title.
Note that a particular content can also have different rights in different regions. A particular film might be licensed to a different service provider in Asia. Netflix must check where it can legally stream each content and for how long, and to see if there are existing licensing deals to honor or wait out. Some content or titles are licensed on other streaming platforms.
The acquired content also needs to be ingested in the backend. Netflix must prepare and upload all of them to its system. This involves digitizing older content, converting files into the format it uses, adding subtitles and audio tracks, including or cleaning metadata like descriptions, title art cards or thumbnails, and title categories, and running quality checks.
Nevertheless, based on the above, the acquisition of the production studies and streaming assets or content libraries of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix is still not a close deal. What the two have is an initial pricing deal. This is akin to an engagement rather than a marriage. Moreover, even after the acquisition legally closes, reaching completion will take some time.