Stakes are high as Netflix, Paramount battle over Warner Bros

Hollywood unions, movie theatre owners and fans raise concerns over impact of sale

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Who ends up with the assets of Warner Bros Discovery, the owner of one of Hollywood's largest and most venerable film studios, is likely to impact the entertainment industry for decades to come.

On Dec 5, the company announced that Netflix, the world's dominant streaming platform, had agreed to purchase its streaming and studio assets in a US$82.7 billion (S$106.7 billion) deal, including debt.

Three days later, Paramount Skydance launched a hostile takeover bid for all of Warner Bros. The offer values the company at US$108.4 billion in total. Either deal would require regulatory approval.

WHY IS WARNER BROS UP FOR GRABS?

Streaming has changed the way movies and TV shows are distributed, putting pressure on legacy media companies by cutting into revenue from cable subscriptions and advertising as well as film ticket sales.

In June 2025, Warner Bros announced a plan to split into two businesses, one focused on cable TV, the other on streaming and studios. Its chief executive David Zaslav calculated he could get a hefty premium for the streaming and studio businesses once they were separated from the debt-laden cable networks, people familiar with the deal said.

Then, in the autumn, Paramount made three unsolicited offers for the entire company. Absorbing it would give Paramount the combined resources of two major studios - Paramount and Warner Bros - and two major streaming services - Paramount+ and Warner's HBO Max.

HOW DO THE NETFLIX AND PARAMOUNT OFFERS COMPARE?

Netflix would buy just Warner Bros' Hollywood studios and streaming business; Warner Bros' cable TV networks, including CNN, TNT and the Discovery Channel, would be split off in advance of the merger.