Netflix and HBO Max are two of the streaming subscription services, with Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ in second and third place. What would happen if Netflix acquired Warner Bros. Discovery? Could the services be merged?
How will Hollywood change if Netflix buys Warner Bros.
Netflix has announced that it will acquire Warner Bros., the legendary Hollywood studio that includes HBO and HBO Max, in a deal worth $72 billion.
Relax with Netflix? No more. After decades of organic growth, the streaming giant went on the offensive with a $72 billion merger deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns several popular franchises including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Harry Potter.
The deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery will change the world of entertainment by bringing classics like “Casablanca” and popular HBO series “Game of Thrones” and “The Sopranos” under the streaming service’s umbrella. The deal will also bring further consolidation in the video streaming space by adding HBO Max’s approximately 130 million streaming subscribers to Netflix’s approximately 300 million.
The companies expect the merger to close in the third quarter of 2026, after Warner Bros. Discovery separates its global networks division, which includes CNN, Discovery Channel, TBS and TNT, from its studio division.
But the dominance afforded by the streaming giants Netflix and HBO Max, along with concerns about the impact on the movie theater industry, could pose challenges for the deal to be approved by regulators.
The deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. gives the integrated streaming service a “huge library” of Warner Bros. movies, Kathryn Harrigan, the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Business Leadership at Columbia Business School, told USA TODAY. “It’s going to be a bigger library than most.”
What will happen to HBO Max after the deal with Netflix?
That remains to be seen. Netflix said in a letter to subscribers emailed early Saturday morning, Dec. 6, that the two streaming services will remain separate for now.
“Nothing has changed today. Both streaming services will continue to operate separately. There are still steps to complete before the transaction closes, including regulatory and shareholder approvals,” the letter said, and included a link to Netflix’s FAQ regarding the merger.
“Nothing will change to the content currently distributed on Netflix. Netflix and Warner Bros. will remain separate until the transaction is completed,” the FAQ reads.
In response to a question about whether HBO Max subscribers should cancel their memberships, the FAQ states that “Netflix and Warner Bros. will remain separate until the deal is completed.”
This seems to leave open the possibility of integration. But Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters said on a Dec. 5 conference call to discuss the merger that the HBO brand is “very powerful for consumers.”
He said Netflix and HBO Max are “very complementary,” adding: “There’s a high percentage of existing HBO Max subscribers who are also Netflix subscribers.”
With two separate streaming services, Netflix could potentially create program bundles to retain subscribers to both services and encourage customers who subscribe to one to add the other. “We think there’s a real opportunity to really figure out how to deliver more titles in the right way, through a combination of planning and tiering and things like that, to unlock the value of these assets,” Peters said.
The big picture: Netflix deal with Warner Bros. Discovery faces challenges
There can be no assurance that the transaction will pass regulatory review. Voices across political lines are pointing out the mistake of the merger. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called the merger an “antitrust nightmare” and argued that the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger would harm consumers.
The Trump administration has not released an official public response, but after the deal was announced, CNBC reported that senior administration officials viewed the merger with “strong skepticism.”
Paramount, which completed its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media in July, has been bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery over the past two months, as has Comcast, Reuters reported.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, who like his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has close ties to the Trump administration, has argued that the media conglomerate’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery poses the least antitrust concerns.
Paramount lawyers said in a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery that the deal with Netflix “establishes and expands Netflix’s global dominance in matters not recognized by domestic or international competition law,” the Wall Street Journal reported on December 4.
Hollywood is also voicing concerns. “The potential deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. is a combination that could serve the financial interests of both companies’ shareholders, but it also raises many serious questions about the future of the entertainment industry, especially the impact on the human creative talent whose livelihoods and careers depend on it,” the Screen Actors Guild and the National Federation of Television and Radio Artists said in a Dec. 5 statement on X.
However, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos emphasized that “this deal supports consumers, innovation, workers, creators and growth,” adding that it will increase “value for consumers” by allowing consumers to subscribe to Netflix, HBO Max, and the rest of Warner Bros.’ Discovery package.
He said Netflix will continue to release Warner Bros. Discovery films and hopes to allay concerns that the deal will eliminate another studio or major source of theatrical films.
Contributors: Daniel de Visé and Kelly Lawler/USA TODAY
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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