Paramount beats Netflix for Warner Bros. – What it means for you
Paramount beats Netflix for Warner Bros. – What it means for you
Kelly Lawler, USA TODAYTue, March 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM UTC
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In the dirty and very expensive fight to buy storied Hollywood studio Warner Bros., Paramount Skydance came out on top.
The deal comes at the end of a fraught bidding war for Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max and the many cable networks under the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella, that originally named Netflix the winner back in December. But Paramount, headed by CEO David Ellison and fresh off another merger with Skydance, would not be stopped in its quest to win the day.
After a hostile takeover attempt and eventual huge bid of $31 a share in cash — topping Netflix's proposed $27.75 — Paramount also offered $45.7 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle's billionaire co-founder, Larry Ellison, David's father. It adds up to a whopping $110 billion, where Netflix was only offering a (seemingly) paltry deal worth $72 billion.
In an aerial view, the Warner Bros. logo is displayed on the water tower at Warner Bros. Studio on February 27, 2026 in Burbank, California. Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a deal reportedly worth $110 billion.
Given four days to offer a counteroffer, Netflix ultimately decided to bow out. In a statement Netflix CEOs Ted Sarandos and and Greg Peters thanked Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav and other executives for "running a fair and rigorous process."
It's all a lot of numbers, a lot of statements from rich executives, a lot of regulatory hurdles to jump and a lot uncertainty, particularly for the thousands of employees of both Paramount and WBD who could lose their jobs as the soon-to-be megacorporation tries to eliminate the huge debt load the merger will cause. And that's all only if the merger goes through − any consolidation of this size will need regulatory approval from the Trump administration and international governments. But many industry and Wall Street experts expect the U.S. will give the go ahead, since Larry Ellison, the world's second richest person, has close ties with the Trump administration.
But what does all of this mean for you and me, the people who just want to watch an episode of "The Pitt" (on HBO Max) at the end of a long day? What does it mean for fans of the Superman and Batman franchises, or the all of us paying quite a bit a month for subscription services like Paramount+ and HBO Max, which will on to be under the same overlords? What does it mean for what stories Hollywood will tell?
Paramount and Netflix logos are seen in this illustration taken December 8, 2025.
Here's everything you about the major merger, including how it could affect what you log in to watch on your TV every night.
Will anything change right away because Paramount is buying Warner Bros.?
Immediately, consumers won't see any effects. The deal is not yet approved by regulators (more on that below), and that process can take months, if not over a year. However, Paramount has already begun announcing its plans, and based on its aggressive pursuit of Warner Bros. and triumphant attitude in the press since Netflix dropped out of the bidding, expect the effects of the merger to be fast and furious if and when it goes through.
Will HBO Max and Paramount+ be combined into one streaming service?
Yes, that's the plan. “We do plan to put the two services together, which today gives us a little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers,” David Ellison said during an investor call on March 2.
“We think the combined offering, given the amount of content and what we can do from the tech side, really will put us in a position to be able to compete with the most scaled players” in the streaming market, he added. (Netflix is notably the largest streamer, with over 325 million global subscribers.)
Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed HBO Max logo, in this illustration taken January 20, 2022.
What that means is you'll start to see the likes of "Game of Thrones" spinoff "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" alongside "Yellowstone" spinoff "The Madison" and "Star Trek" series like "Strange New Worlds." It will put HBO content right next to next-day CBS content like "Survivor" and "Big Brother."
How much would the combined service cost? No clues yet from Ellison, but consolidation does not typically lower prices for consumers. The trend in streaming subscription prices has pushed some services and bundles over $20/month, and it's likely to keep rising for all platforms, not just Paramount+ and HBO Max. In short: Your costs are almost guaranteed to go up.
Will HBO change? Will it suddenly turn into another 'Yellowstone' spinoff factory?
Ellison says he won't be shaking things up at HBO, one of the most respected prestige TV brands in Hollywood, by both viewers and industry insiders. “Our view is that HBO should stay HBO,” Ellison said in the investor call. "HBO is a crown jewel in this business. It will continue to have the resources and independence to do what it does best."
He added one caveat: "At the same time, we believe in licensing our content to other platforms and producing third-party content in our television studios,” Ellison added, saying, “we are committed to growing our studios and the popular shows they create.” (Ironically, those other platforms would likely include Netflix.)
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An image from HBO's "The White Lotus" Season 3.
So it seems like at least one longtime Warner employee will be keeping his job: Ellison specifically shouted out HBO Chairman Casey Bloys, who is hugely respected in Hollywood and the architect of fan-favorite TV shows on the network and HBO Max like "Pitt," "Game of Thrones," "The White Lotus," "Succession" and more.
What will happen to Paramount and Warner Bros. movies meant for theaters?
When Netflix was the one everyone thought would buy Warner Bros., fans and filmmakers were immediately worried movies would skip cinemas entirely, like many of the streamer's current offerings do. Now that Warner is being acquired by a rival studio, the worry is the number of movies per year could significantly diminish, leaving stories untold and limiting consumer choice.
But for now, Hollywood can exhale. In the investor call Ellison said he plans to keep Paramount and Warner Bros. separate movie studios, and release about 15 films each per year, which would be a massive increase — in 2025, Paramount released only eight films, and Warner managed 11.
Ghostface stalks again in "Scream 7."
Don't expect those movies to come to a combined Paramount+/HBO Max streaming service any faster, though. Ellison said he remains committed to a 45-day "window" between a theatrical release and a streaming one.
What about all the cable channels, like Discovery, HGTV and CNN?
When Ellison's Skydance merged with Paramount last year, he quickly tapped Bari Weiss, a conservative media executive, to take over CBS News. Her changes at the company have drawn harsh criticism from observers, staffers and the public. We might be able to expect a similar shift to the ultimate name in cable news: Warner Bros.'s CNN.
Reports of panic among CNN staffers are running rampant, not just because of possible cuts, but because of how the new owners — with Trump ties — could impact the editorial direction of their reporting and lead to more ideologically polarized coverage. CNN CEO Mark Thompson sent a memo to the newsroom cautioning against fear-mongering. “Despite all the speculation you’ve read during this process, I’d suggest that you don’t jump to conclusions about the future until we know more,” Thompson wrote. “And secondly let’s not forget our duty to our audience. We’re still near the start of what is already an incredibly newsy year at home and abroad, one that will culminate with critical U.S. midterm elections and who knows what else. Let’s continue to focus on delivering the best possible journalism to the millions of people who rely on us all around the world.
Former CNN journalist Jim Acosta was not so reticent, writing on X recently, “As I’ve been warning, America now has state-compromised media.”
WBD's other cable networks will likely easily slot into the Paramount fold, although redundancies could lead to staff and programming cuts.
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It's hard to say goodbye, but fans of these TV shows will have to do just that in 2026. From fantasy epics like Starz's "Outlander" (starring Sam Heughan, left, and Caitriona Balfe, pictured) to talk shows like "The Kelly Clarkson Show" and "Late Night With Stephen Colbert," these 20 shows are ending this year.
Will the Paramount/Warner Bros. deal go through?
At this point it seems unlikely that anything will stop this multi-billion dollar train. Ellison just succeeded in his Skydance merger last summer under the Trump administration, for one thing. FCC chairman Brendan Carr, who became infamous in Sept. for his criticism of Jimmy Kimmel, has already signaled his personal approval of the WB/Paramount deal.
However the deal also will require international regulatory approval, and places like the European Union have different criteria than the U.S. for what mergers and acquisitions can go through. David Ellison recently tried to charm officials there to keep the deal moving, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Is the Paramount/Warner Bros. deal good or bad for you and me?
Many major mergers decrease value and increase costs for consumers. Consolidation in the industry means fewer places for new and emerging artists to take their great ideas. If there are fewer people who get to say "yes" or "no" to a pitch, fewer pitches are going to make it through. We could lose great films of a new generation without ever knowing they existed in some young writer or director's mind.
So far the deal is not popular in Hollywood, either. John Oliver, whose "Last Week Tonight" airs on HBO, weighed in with his signature blunt style.
"It turns out we might be getting a new business daddy," Oliver said at the start of his March 1 episode. "Yeah, not great news. In fact, if I may quote anyone who's ever accidentally sat on their Roku remote: 'Oh shit, I'm in Paramount now, how the [expletive] do I get out of this?'"
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paramount beats Netflix to win Warner Bros. – What it means for you
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