Netflix enters exclusive negotiations to buy Warner Bros.

A historic deal is in sight. The Hollywood industry is in panic. But nothing has been done yet.

Hollywood holds its breath.

Netflix has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy Warner Bros. Discovery: its film studio, its TV studio, the entire Warner and HBO library, as well as HBO Max. Information confirmed by Variety, after several weeks of a bidding war of rare aggressiveness.

Paramount Skydance (David Ellison) opened the ball with a cash offer for all of Warner Bros. Discovery, estimated at around $27 per share, with the financial support of three Middle Eastern sovereign funds. Netflix and Comcast, more cautious, initially only targeted studio and streaming activities. But Netflix’s appetite for a legendary catalog – Warner, HBO, a whole section of Hollywood history – ended up taking over. On Monday, the final offers were submitted.

And WBD therefore chose Netflix… but the series is far from over.

First, because Paramount, failed, drew a shock accusation against Netflix, citing irregularities in the process and possible conflicts of interest among certain WBD executives. Then because this shift represents a total change of doctrine for Netflix: Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters have always affirmed that the platform did not need a heritage catalog to grow. But Warner Bros. – of Casablanca has Friends passing through Superman And Harry Potter- has a crazy number of licenses, too many not to see that there is a move to be made for the streaming giant.

Well, Hollywood is already on its feet. The symbol is too big: a platform that offers a historic studio like Warner Bros. would be a huge marker for the years to come, for the already fragile future of cinemas. As soon as formal negotiations were announced, a consortium of talent signed an open letter sent to Congress — anonymously, for fear of retaliation — warning that such a deal would allow Netflix toe “hold a noose around the cinema market”reducing production intended for the big screen and pulling down streaming windows.

On Thursday evening, the Directors Guild of America issued an incendiary statement:

“News of exclusive negotiations between Netflix and WBD raises major concerns for the DGA. A vibrant and competitive industry is essential to protecting the careers and creative rights of filmmakers. We will meet with Netflix to outline our concerns.”

The directors’ union fears a concentration that would stifle opportunities and artistic competition.

Even more alarmist, Cinema United – the organization representing American cinema operators – denounced “an unprecedented threat to global exploitation“. Its president Michael O’Leary points out that Netflix does not operate according to a cinema model:

“Netflix’s success is television, not the big screen. A real policy in favor of theaters implies a robust offer, significant exclusivity and appropriate marketing. This is not what Netflix offers.”

He also emphasizes the domino effect: the closure of theaters would lead to the fall of a local ecosystem – restaurants, bars, businesses – “a Main Street industry“, he says. Each dollar spent in a cinema generates on average 1.50 dollars in neighboring businesses. Fewer films = less flow = entire cities weakened.

But the WBD group has, in any case, an explosive internal situation to manage. A split to separate the Warner Bros. entities. and HBO Max from linear channels (CNN, TNT, TBS, etc.) is in progress. An operation planned for mid-2026 intended to stem the fall of the stock on the stock market.

If Netflix completes the deal, the group will more than ever be the center of gravity in global entertainment. So much so that the Trump administration and the antitrust regulator could get involved and block the transaction. For now, everything is just an “exclusive window” for negotiation. But Hollywood has already stopped breathing.