Massive media and sports deals soared in 2025

The trend is expected to continue next year as well, with planned sale of Warner Bros.

- BY MEG JAMES

THE MAJORITY stake in the Lakers was sold this year for a record $10 billion.

(GINA FERAZZI Los Angeles Times)

As the end of 2025 approaches, it is abundantly clear this has been a year hot with big media and sports deals. And it’s a trend that should spill into the new year.

Consulting firm PwC (formerly Price Waterhouse Coopers) on Tuesday released its annual outlook for deal activity in the media and telecommunications industry, and discerned a notable uptick in the value of proposed tie-ups compared with 2024.

The last few months have witnessed a surge in large combinations, marking a 61% rise in deal value in the second half of the year, compared with the last six months of 2024, the firm said in the report.

Several deals this year have stood out:

■ Walt Disney Co. in January agreed to buy the majority stake of a small competitor, the sports channel distributor Fubo TV. The deal was finalized in late October, allowing Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo. The deal included a $145-million term loan from Disney.

■ Charter Communications and Cox Communications announced a $34.5-billion merger in May that would unite Southern California’s two major cable TV and internet providers into one company that would market its services under Charter’s Spectrum brand.