"Warner Bros. has an infamous history of being bought by other companies and then quickly ending up back on the market after its new owners realize how difficult it is to capitalize on a legacy production studio's assets. Those challenges are part of what doomed WB's mergers with AOL and AT&T, who bought the studio in attempts to reinvent themselves."
"Assuming that the deal receives regulatory approval, Netflix will soon own the entirety of Warner Bros.' (but not Discovery Global's) assets, which includes HBO / HBO Max, DC Studios, and the legacy studio's television and film production arms. This would make Netflix the corporate home to many more of the world's biggest entertainment franchises, like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, and give the streamer a much larger operational footprint as a proper studio."
"This strategic bifurcation and sale of assets was obviously WBD's desired outcome when the company first announced earlier this year that it planned to split Warner Bros. and Discovery back into two units. Back then, CEO David Zaslav had not yet announced that the company was open to acquisition offers. But you could glean as much from looking at the way that WBD was struggling to turn a profit with its linear cable networks."
Warner Bros. has repeatedly been bought and then resold after new owners struggled to capitalize on legacy studio assets. AOL and AT&T acquisitions failed as attempts to reinvent their buyers. Netflix agreed to acquire Warner Bros. for $83 billion, positioning the streamer as a major industry player and potential long-term owner. Regulatory approval would give Netflix HBO / HBO Max, DC Studios, and Warner's television and film production arms, plus franchises such as Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. Discovery Global will retain networks including CNN, the Discovery Channel, and TLC and is set to become independent by Q3 2026. WBD pursued a split while managing significant debt and weak cable profitability.
Read at The Verge
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