The heavyweights of Hollywood made their cases on Thursday to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a prize that they hope will help them outflank their competitors in the streaming wars.
Netflix, Paramount and Comcast submitted bids to acquire the Hollywood colossus, which owns the Warner Bros. movie studio, HBO, and cable networks like CNN and TNT, four people with knowledge of the proposals said.
The outcome of the sale could alter the trajectory of the entertainment business.
David Ellison, the Paramount chief executive armed with billions from his father, wants to combine all of Warner Bros. Discovery with Paramount to create a counterweight to tech giants. Comcast, the owner of NBC, wants the company’s studio and streaming business, with many iconic characters like Batman, to help elevate its digital business and theme parks. Netflix, which has always been seen as an outside disrupter, is also eyeing the studio and streaming business — a deal that would put it in control of a classic film library and a major studio lot.
Each bidder recently made a pitch to Warner Bros. Discovery about why it is the ideal suitor.
Comcast’s bid would create a formidable contender at the box office, combining two of the largest movie studios — Warner Bros. and Universal — as well as creating a home entertainment juggernaut that included HBO Max and Peacock, two prominent streaming services.
The pitch from Netflix, the streaming juggernaut with more than 300 million subscribers, was notable in part because it included a pledge to continue theatrical releases for movies from Warner Bros. Discovery, a person with knowledge of the talks said. That would be a significant development for Netflix, which pioneered at-home viewing and has so far avoided going all in at the box office.
Bloomberg earlier reported some details of Netflix’s pitch to Warner Bros Discovery.
David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, was said to be enthusiastic about a potential bid from Netflix during a dinner party on Wednesday for Hollywood talent at his Beverly Hills home, a restored French Regency-style retreat formerly owned by the producer Robert Evans, two to people familiar with the event said.
Paramount, the traditional media company run by Mr. Ellison, has already submitted several bids to acquire the entire company, including its cable channels, arguing to shareholders that the combined might of traditional TV and streaming is a winning formula. Mr. Ellison’s bid is backed by his father, Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle and one of the world’s richest men.
Still, the elder Mr. Ellison does not plan to provide a bottomless wellspring of capital, two people with knowledge of the plans said. Paramount has partners in its pursuit, including the investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, and has held talks with sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East about eventually joining the bid. Those talks are still in early stages, two people familiar said.
Any bidder would need approval from federal regulators. How the Trump administration evaluates antitrust concerns in any of the proposed deals will depend in part on how it defines the key participants in a media industry that is rapidly evolving as technology giants like Apple and Amazon become rivals to legacy players.
Politics have also seeped into some deal approvals during the Trump administration. David Ellison has cultivated a relationship with President Trump, who has praised his family’s ownership of Paramount. Brian Roberts, the chief executive of Comcast, has found himself at odds with Mr. Trump, with the president calling him a “disgrace” to broadcasting.
Warner Bros. Discovery may ultimately decide not to sell itself to any bidders. This summer, it announced a plan to divide itself into two companies, one owning the streaming service and studio and the other owning the traditional cable business. If the company’s board rejects all of the suitors, it may proceed with that spinoff, which is expected to be completed next year.
Brooks Barnes contributed reporting.
Benjamin Mullin reports for The Times on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact him securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or at [email protected].
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