Netflix Looked Into Buying EA and Even Disney

A new report from Bloomberg says Netflix once looked at making some very large buys long before its plan to take over Warner Bros. became public.

According to the report, the company talked about the idea of acquiring Electronic Arts, Disney, and even Fox, but none of those ideas turned into real offers.

The report says these discussions happened during internal talks about Netflix’s long-term strategy. At the time, the company’s leadership went back and forth on whether it made sense to buy already-established brands, especially since Netflix is usually known for building things on its own.

Bloomberg notes that co-founder Reed Hastings is seen as someone who avoids major deals because he prefers to grow the company in a slower, more controlled way. The outlet says the leadership team “debated pursuing just about every major asset put up for sale, including Electronic Arts Inc. and Fox.” It also says they talked about Disney as a possible target.

Even with those conversations, nothing moved forward. Bloomberg reports that Netflix’s executives struggled to agree on any of the ideas and worried about paying more than the companies were worth. The report says the team didn’t want to “hurt their stock price by overpaying for an asset that traded at a much lower multiple.”

Ahead of the Warner Bros. announcement, Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters spoke about big mergers in general. He said, “One should have a reasonable amount of skepticism around big media mergers, they don’t have an amazing track record,” which made many people think Netflix would avoid large acquisitions altogether.

Now the company is preparing for its massive Warner Bros. deal set for 2026, which could bring studios like NetherRealm, Rocksteady, TT Games, and Avalanche under its control. Meanwhile, Paramount is also trying to buy Warner Bros. with a hostile offer.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!