Could Netflix Be Buying Warner Bros. Discovery? Here’s What the Co-CEO Has to Say

Reports surfaced last month said that Paramount CEO David Ellison was putting together what one source called a “presumptive all-cash bid” for Warner Bros. Discovery. Now, Puck’s Dylan Byers says Netflix might also be stepping into the mix.

According to Byers, “a well-placed Hollywood source called to suggest […] that Netflix was also considering a bid for David Zaslav’s assets.”

He admitted that the idea once sounded unrealistic, but Ellison’s bold move has pushed others to act faster. “Ellison’s seemingly limitless cash and ambition have accelerated Hollywood’s consolidation process, and his decision to bid for all of WBD now—in an attempt to preempt potential rivals—is forcing nearly everyone to dust off their models,” Byers said.

The timing of all this is pretty interesting. Warner Bros. has been doing great this year, with big hits like Barbie, Superman, Sinners, and Weapons keeping the studio front and center in pop culture.

But even with all that success, Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall told Puck that he doesn’t expect Warner Bros. Discovery stock to go much higher than $19 a share. He also said that “neither Apple nor Amazon will go for all of WBD.”

So, what about Netflix? Co-CEO Greg Peters didn’t exactly confirm anything, but he didn’t shut it down either. During an interview at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Peters was asked about the reports that Netflix could be interested in WBD, or maybe just its studios if the company splits up.

He said, “We come from a deep heritage of being builders rather than buyers. I also think that one should have a reasonable amount of skepticism around big media mergers, they don’t have an amazing track record over the history of time.” But then he added, “I would say it’s our responsibility to evaluate all our options.”

Peters went on to explain that Netflix’s main goal is to keep growing. “Our job is to figure out what’s the best way to grow our business? And we have to think really carefully, how do we invest our capital, our time and our attention, and if that’s the best way to do it, great, and if it’s not, then we should do something else.”

While Netflix is thinking about its next big move, the company is also putting more focus on gaming. Peters announced that Netflix will soon launch several family party games for TV, like LEGO Party!, Pictionary: Game Night, Boggle Party, and Tetris Time Warp.

He also talked about how Netflix’s viewer engagement hasn’t been growing as much lately, especially compared to YouTube. “I’m not happy with the fact that we’re not growing engagement,” he said. “We should grow more engagement.”

But Peters made it clear that Netflix isn’t planning to copy YouTube’s user-generated content model.

“I think the dumbest move would be to try and match them in every way,” he said. “Because I think you have to really know what lane you’re operating in, and then you try and be excellent at that and then defend that lane. What do we do? We invest with creators so they can tell their stories in really, really compelling ways, in a way that the YouTube model doesn’t really allow them to go do. So we want to work with the best creators on the planet. Some of those folks are going to come from YouTube. They’re going to come from TikTok.”

For now, it’s still unclear if Netflix will actually make a move for Warner Bros. Discovery. But with rumors heating up and competition growing, Hollywood could be heading for another major shakeup.

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