Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday it would accept a higher, revised offer from Paramount rather than proceed with an $83 billion agreement it had previously accepted with Netflix to buy Warner’s streaming services, studios and intellectual property.
Netflix announced it would not try to top Paramount’s bid and withdrew from the contest. In a statement, the streaming company said it had been disciplined and concluded that “at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.”
The decision followed weeks of public jockeying. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos publicly challenged Paramount on the BAFTA red carpet, urging the rival to “just put a better deal on the table.” Netflix’s proposal had included commitments that Warner would continue operating as an independent studio and keep releasing movies in theaters.
Paramount’s renewed push ultimately prevailed. Paramount had earlier proposed buying all of Warner — including cable channels such as CNN, TBS and Discovery — in an offer valued at roughly $108 billion. This week Paramount raised its bid by $1 per share, and Warner’s board determined the latest Paramount offer was “superior.”
Sarandos also lobbied in Washington hours before Warner’s announcement, meeting with White House officials to press his company’s transaction. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed those meetings and said President Trump did not meet with Sarandos.
Both the Netflix and Paramount proposals are expected to face rigorous antitrust review. The Paramount plan would combine major entertainment assets — Paramount Global’s CBS, the Paramount+ streamer, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other networks — with Warner’s extensive holdings, making Justice Department scrutiny a likely and significant hurdle.
Paramount CEO David Ellison’s bid is backed by the wealth of his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. David Ellison has argued his group could have an easier path through regulatory review. The Ellisons’ political connections have drawn attention: Larry Ellison is a donor to President Trump, and David Ellison was photographed giving a thumbs-up beside Senator Lindsey Graham before the State of the Union.
Those ties have been noted alongside recent changes at CBS News after David Ellison’s selection of Bari Weiss as editor in chief. President Trump has praised the direction of the news division under Weiss. Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr told a Semafor conference he was pleased with the newsroom’s shift under Weiss, saying CBS had moved toward “more fact-based, unbiased reporting.”
As the companies, shareholders and regulators consider next steps, the deal battle signals a potentially contentious review process. The outcome will reshape control of some of Hollywood’s largest assets and prompt close regulatory scrutiny of media consolidation, political influence, and the future structure of major studios and networks.