On 5 December 2025, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Netflix will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and television studios, streaming business (including HBO and HBO Max), and the associated content libraries and studios. The deal values the acquired assets at a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion, with an equity value of $72 billion.
The transaction gives each WBD share a price of US$27.75. The deal excludes WBD’s linear cable and global-networks assets; those will be carved out into a separate publicly traded company named “Discovery Global,” expected to spin off by Q3 2026. Netflix expects the acquisition to close in 12–18 months, pending regulatory approval and completion of the spin-off. Since some of the other bidders are “politically connected”, expect another heap of twitterized lawsuits for that.
(Update, 15 hours later: Who called it? Here we go with the Counter offers and lawsuits. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/paramount-108-billion-bid-warner-bros-discovery-257437.html)
What the acquisition includes and what stays separate
Under the deal, Netflix acquires Warner Bros. film and television studios, including DC Studios and Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, HBO and HBO Max with their libraries, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Games, distribution, licensing, and publishing divisions. Excluded from the acquisition are WBD’s cable-network assets, the linear television and global-networks division will become “Discovery Global” and remain separate. Netflix says it will maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations, including theatrical releases for films.
Why Netflix won the bidding war and valuation
The acquisition follows a competitive bidding process that involved potential buyers such as Paramount Skydance and Comcast. The WBD board concluded that Netflix’s offer was the only binding and complete bid. Netflix’s offer combined cash and stock and included a breakup fee of $5.8 billion in case the deal fails regulatory review, signalling Netflix’s confidence in closing the transaction.
What changes (and what remains uncertain)
Netflix and WBD state the combination will increase global reach, emphasise strong content libraries, and provide Netflix with expanded studio capabilities and production capacity in the United States. The acquisition brings major intellectual property under Netflix’s control including film and TV franchises, libraries, and game divisions.
What remains uncertain is how distribution strategies will evolve. While Netflix claims it will continue theatrical releases for Warner Bros. films, it is unclear whether Netflix will maintain the same release windows for streaming versus theatrical distribution. That may have implications for cinemas, distributors, and production schedules.
Regulatory approval is not yet secured. The deal will likely face scrutiny under competition laws in multiple jurisdictions. There is uncertainty around how the spin-off and separation of Discovery Global will occur, and what assets exactly will end up under that new entity. Because of the scale and complexity, studio artists, VFX houses, post-production facilities, and collaborators should treat any assurances from Netflix or WBD as provisional until closing and integration are complete.
Netflix already consolidating VFX: Eyeline merges Scanline
Earlier in October 2025, Netflix unified its internal visual-effects companies by merging Scanline VFX and Eyeline Studios under the single brand “Eyeline.” This reorganisation brings together decades of cinematic VFX expertise (Scanline) with Eyeline’s virtual-production, volumetric-capture, and AI-driven research under one roof. Netflix said the merger aims to combine “nearly four decades of VFX artistry” with virtual-production and AI-enabled tools to serve global productions. What remains unclear is whether Netflix plans any further downsizing of facilities or consolidation beyond the brand merge. No public statement confirms closures or reductions of studio locations.
Implications for VFX, Post-Production and Content Workflows
For freelancers, vendors, and boutique VFX houses, the consolidation inside Netflix via Eyeline and the larger Warner-Bro acquisition may have mixed effects. On one hand, Netflix now controls a vastly expanded content pipeline, which could mean increased demand for VFX, post-production, and localisation work. On the other hand, Netflix’s unified internal VFX-production pipeline could reduce reliance on external vendors, especially for projects they expect to keep fully in-house.
For post-production, VFX and colour-grading professionals, consolidation of content ownership and VFX capacity under Netflix could lead to fewer independent buyers controlling large budgets. This may impact bargaining power for smaller studios.
Distribution and release-window strategies might change under the new ownership. That could affect production scheduling, pipeline planning, and coordination between VFX houses and distributors. International distribution, licensing, and localisation pipelines may see changes depending on how Netflix reorganises Warner’s global rights business and integrates it into its existing infrastructure.
Conclusion
Netflix’s decision to buy Warner Bros. Discovery and simultaneously restructure its in-house VFX operations suggests a clear push toward vertical integration from production and post to distribution and global rights. For the post-production and VFX community this presents a new landscape: increased capacity and content volume, but potentially decreased vendor diversity and bargaining power.
