Netflix to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion

Not long after rumors of a deal between the two media giants broke, Netflix has announced it is buying Warner Bros. HBO and HBO Max for approximately $82.7 billion. The deal, if approved, will take place after Warner Bros. has disentangled itself from the assets it was already getting rid of as part of its Discovery de-merger in the third quarter of 2026.

In the statement, Netflix said it expects to “maintain” Warner Bros. current operations, including maintaining theatrical releases for its films. And the deal may spell the end for HBO Max as its own product, with Netflix saying it will add “the deep film and TV libraries and HBO and HBO Max programming” to its own stable.

It’s likely the deal will not go ahead without a lot of objections from both the government and other buyers interested in purchasing Warner Bros. Yesterday, Paramount/Skydance said (via the Hollywood Reporter) any deal between WB and Netflix would be the result of an “unfair” process. Given Paramount’s close tis with the administration it’s likely that any deal will be subject to scrutiny.

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