“I feel so sad,” says one studio executive. They’re not alone: All of Hollywood is currently bracing to hear which of three media corporations will change the landscape of movies and television forever. On Thursday, November 20, Paramount, Netflix, and Comcast each submitted a bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery—the company that owns the Warner Bros. film studio, HBO, and cable networks CNN, TNT, and Discovery, among others.
Each of the three companies comes into the potential deal with different ambitions. Paramount Skydance, which was created from an $8 billion merger by David Ellison earlier this year, wants to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets, while streaming giant Netflix and Comcast—NBCUniversal’s corporate parent—have bid only for the company’s studio and streaming business.
The swallowing up of another legacy Hollywood studio, just a few years after Disney bought the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in a $71.3 billion deal, feels like yet another seismic shift for an industry that has recently faced setback after setback. “It’s not just Warner Bros. theatrical, which is a mainstream studio and all the IP that goes with it, but it’s also HBO—they’re both these storied homes,” the exec says. “I don’t see a path where those things [still] exist with any of these buyers, because I think they just get folded into the existing structures, even if that isn’t the intention going in.”
Employees working under the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella—who are still recovering from WarnerMedia’s merger with Discovery, which happened less than four years ago—are battling anxiety about more upheaval and jobs that will likely be eliminated. “There’s a lot of tenured employees at Warner Bros. that have been there for 20 and 30 years,” a Warner Bros. insider says. “This is not their first rodeo. But I think, ultimately, everyone recognizes that this is different—that consolidation is happening, and it’s a little scary.”
Insiders beyond those employed by Warner are also concerned about what the sale will mean for the industry’s greater infrastructure—and as of right now, there are more questions than answers. “Warner Bros. has been at the red-hot center as this constant target, and I just wonder, when has a Warner Bros. merger gone well?” says one top movie producer. “It’s hard to even know who’s the best. It feels like it shouldn’t be happening.”
Many believe the best buyer would be the one that keeps Warner Bros.’ theatrical output most intact, though it’s not clear which of the three bidders fits that bill. “We just don’t know yet,” one top manager says. “It all depends on what [they] are going to allow output-wise.” In August, Warner Bros. Discovery stated that its goal was to have 12–14 theatrical releases per year. If the new buyer were to cut that output by half or more, it would be devastating for the market. “[Warner] is on a generational run this year”—thanks to hits like Sinners, Weapons, and One Battle After Another—“and you don’t want to lose that,” the manager says. “You don’t [want to] lose the leaders there that are willing to take shots on directors and stars that want to go after original thought.”
