Warner Bros. Discovery Receives Bids from Paramount, Comcast, Netflix

Warner Bros. Discovery received nonbinding first-round bids from Paramount, Comcast and Netflix on Thursday, November 20, marking the initial phase of a potential sale of the media conglomerate or its key assets. The bids, due by noon that day, target various parts of the company, which encompasses the Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO, the HBO Max streaming service and linear cable networks including TNT, TBS, CNN, HGTV and the Food Network.

Sources familiar with the matter indicated that Paramount is the only bidder seeking the entire Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio. The company, recently merged with Skydance Media in an $8.4 billion deal, aims to integrate the full array of assets to bolster its film production and streaming offerings. Paramount plans to release at least 15 feature films annually and views Warner Bros. Discovery's extensive library as a valuable addition. In contrast, Comcast, parent of NBCUniversal, and Netflix expressed interest primarily in the studios and streaming businesses. Both entities are pursuing strategies to avoid acquiring the declining linear cable networks, which Warner Bros. Discovery has considered spinning off into a separate...