Topline
Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal to buy major Hollywood studio Warner Bros. rocked the industry Friday morning, as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said theatrical release windows will “evolve to be much more consumer friendly” while criticizing lengthy theatrical runs.
Netflix announced Friday it struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. for nearly $83 billion. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Sarandos suggested Friday on an investors call theatrical windows will “evolve” following Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros., and though he did not say how long he expects movies to stay in theaters, he criticized “long exclusive windows” as not consumer friendly.
Sarandos said movies planned to be distributed by Warner Bros., which has a slate of releases planned through 2029, will hit theaters as planned while some Netflix movies may continue to get short, limited theatrical runs.
He dismissed claims he has an “opposition” to movie theaters—possibly referring to backlash he faced earlier this year for calling the theatrical release model “outdated”—and clarified his pushback was limited to lengthy theatrical runs.
Sarandos said on the investors call HBO and its streaming service HBO Max—which are home to popular titles like “The White Lotus,” “Euphoria” and “The Last Of Us”—will continue to operate as standalone services, though co-CEO Greg Peters said they have “a lot of options to figure out how you package things in different ways.”
It’s unclear what the marriage of HBO and Netflix will look like, but Netflix said in a release Friday that HBO and HBO Max titles will be available for Netflix subscribers, and the company reportedly argued in talks a bundled HBO-Netflix offering would lower costs for consumers.
Warner Bros. Discovery is home to a swath of popular television networks, like CNN, TNT, Discovery and TBS, but these titles will be split off into a separate Discovery company prior to Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros., meaning they wouldn’t fall under Netflix’s ownership.
News Peg
Netflix announced Friday morning it struck a deal with Warner Bros. to purchase the storied film studio for $82.7 billion, a potentially major acquisition that shook the film and television industries. Netflix won a bidding war that included competitors like Paramount, which reportedly complained in a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav that the process was unfairly rigged for Netflix to win. Netflix said the deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner Bros. Discovery share and that the deal is not expected to close until after Warner Bros. and Discovery split in the third quarter of 2026, though the acquisition is still subject to regulatory approvals.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/12/05/what-does-netflixs-planned-acquisition-of-warner-bros-mean-for-theaters-and-titles-like-hbo-cnn/
