The race to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has formally begun, with Paramount, Comcast and Netflix submitting initial bids on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The move marks the start of what is expected to be one of the entertainment industry’s most consequential corporate shakeups in years.
A source familiar with the process confirmed that the three media giants placed nonbinding offers for portions or potentially all of the WBD empire. The bids set the stage for a complex negotiation that could once again restructure one of Hollywood’s most storied companies.
Paramount, under the leadership of CEO David Ellison, is currently the only contender seeking to buy the entire portfolio. That would include HBO and HBO Max, the Warner Bros. film and TV studios, and a vast suite of cable networks such as TNT, TBS, CNN, HGTV and Food Network.
Warner Bros. Discovery had already been exploring a corporate split, with its studios and streaming operations forming one entity and its linear networks forming another. The structure of the bids reflects that division.
Comcast, parent company of NBCUniversal, and Netflix have expressed interest only in the studios and streaming business. If either of them moves forward, WBD’s linear channels would need to be spun off into a separate company or transferred to another buyer.
Comcast is already in the process of shifting its own cable assets into Versant, adding another layer to the potential transaction.
Regardless of the outcome, any deal involving WBD is poised to reshape the entertainment landscape. Consolidation across film, television and streaming has accelerated as traditional revenue models falter, and the sale of WBD would further concentrate power among a shrinking pool of global media players.
A lingering question concerns financing, particularly whether Saudi Arabia or other Middle Eastern investment funds are backing any of the bids. Both Paramount and Comcast have reportedly engaged with potential partners in the region, though no details have been confirmed. It also remains unclear whether additional bidders have entered the process.
The WBD board will now evaluate the proposals, with further rounds of bidding expected. For Comcast and Netflix, valuation of the remaining linear networks and regulatory scrutiny will be central hurdles, especially as the Trump administration signals that an antitrust challenge is possible.
As Hollywood braces for another major corporate shift, the fate of Warner Bros. Discovery now rests with a board navigating one of the most consequential decisions in contemporary media history.
