The media industry is undergoing significant consolidation, with new reports identifying Warner Bros. Discovery as a key acquisition target, following Skydance Media’s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount.
The interest in Warner Bros. Discovery follows closely after Skydance Media, owned by David Ellison, completed its acquisition of Paramount. Ellison is now reportedly interested in purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery, but he may face competition from global streaming service Netflix, which is also considering a bid for the legacy studio’s assets. The Netflix rumor was first reported by Dylan Byers of Puck News, who stated that following news of Ellison’s interest, a “well-placed Hollywood source called to suggest to me that Netflix was also considering a bid for David Zaslav’s assets.”
Byers also noted that NBCUniversal may have explored an acquisition, with a source stating the company “spent the weekend ‘running the numbers on WBD.'” However, a source from parent company Comcast called a takeover “implausible,” especially while it was spinning off its subsidiary, Versant. The original publisher, Gizmodo, noted it had reached out to all three companies for comment.
Warner Bros. is considered a valuable asset due to its legendary status and extensive library. The studio’s recent creative output under CEO David Zaslav has been described as inconsistent, with notable successes such as Barbie and Dune: Part Two, and failures, including Red One and Joker: Folie à Deux. Zaslav’s tenure may conclude with an artistic success in Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming film, One Battle After Another, which, based on early reviews, may have brought a little bit of that 1970s magic back to WB.
As the studio faces an uncertain future, distinct concerns are associated with the two main rumored buyers. A potential acquisition by Netflix raises questions about the future of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros. films, with a primary concern being a potential strategic shift to a streaming-first model. The writer of the source article expressed apprehension about this possibility, stating, “I don’t want to see his [Paul Thomas Anderson’s] next film in a commercial-laden format while doing laundry in my living room.”
Further criticism is aimed at Netflix’s general content strategy and production quality, with the streaming platform being “mostly known for making a whole lot of garbage,” and having a “garbage-to-gold ratio [that] has to be somewhere in the region of 100:1.” An additional critique focuses on the company’s visual style, referencing the “notorious ‘Netflix Look,'” described as the “streamer’s ugly house visual style that seems to plague most of its original content.”
An acquisition by David Ellison presents a different set of concerns centered on visible political undertones, stemming from the political activities of his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The elder Ellison has been described as a personal “friend” of President Donald Trump, having appeared at Mar-a-Lago to sit in on a transition meeting after Trump’s presidential victory. He also visited the White House as part of the Stargate Project, an AI infrastructure initiative.
These connections have led some observers to characterize David Ellison’s media acquisitions as “part and parcel of a broader ‘MAGA makeover’ happening within the media industry,” implying that American media could become more conservative. The scale of the potential consolidation is also highlighted as a concern, with Skydance having already acquired Paramount, and adding Warner Bros. would place a “huge percentage of Hollywood under the thumb of a guy whose dad is buddies with the president and also the one with the deep pockets.”
The article suggests that David Ellison is likely the best-positioned party to acquire the studio, citing his ample financial resources and recent history of dealmaking. Should the acquisition proceed, the report speculates that the creative direction of Warner Bros. could shift to favor content similar to Top Gun: Maverick, characterized as “glossy, well-produced works of cinematic nationalism that eschew any sort of coherent political statement and play well with the Trump crowd.”
