Paramount, Comcast and Netflix Prepare Rival Bids for Warner Bros. Discovery as First Deadline Nears

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Nov 14

The fight for Warner Bros. Discovery is officially underway — and the future of Hollywood’s most storied studio may come down to three very different visions.

The Hollywood power shift everyone’s been whispering about is no longer theoretical. It’s happening. According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, Paramount, Comcast and Netflix are now preparing their opening bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, with a November 20 deadline set for the first round of non-binding offers. After months of speculation, denied rumors, closed-door conversations and unsolicited approaches, the auction has officially begun.

Warner Bros. Discovery is attempting to complete the sale by the end of 2025. That timeline alone tells you how serious this process is. Studios don’t voluntarily put themselves through a two-year strategic teardown unless they already know the current model isn’t sustainable. Warner Bros. is an empire in search of a future, and for the first time in decades, that future may not be under its own roof.

Paramount appears to be the most aggressive player in the room. Sources familiar with the talks tell the Journal that the company intends to submit a formal bid for the entire operation. Not pieces of it, not a select division, but the whole thing. David Ellison has been circling the company for months, submitting multiple unsolicited offers and making it abundantly clear that he wants Warner Bros. Discovery in its entirety. With this auction now underway, Paramount is finally getting the shot it’s been pushing for. If they manage to pull it off, the consolidation ripple effect across the industry would be immediate and seismic. Paramount, a company that has been searching for scale and stability in a rapidly shrinking ecosystem, would instantly transform into one of the largest entertainment giants on the planet.

Comcast’s approach looks very different. NBCUniversal is not pursuing the full company. Their interest is focused squarely on the jewels: the Warner Bros. film and television studios and the HBO/Max ecosystem. Those assets would strengthen Comcast’s position in both theatrical and streaming without saddling them with the legacy linear footprint that is weighing down every major media company. Cable networks like CNN, TNT, TBS and Discovery Channel are not part of the package they’re after. Comcast has no interest in inheriting that declining business, nor the regulatory complications that come with it. Their bid would reshape Universal’s profile, not its entire corporate structure.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. **KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES**

Then there is Netflix — the unexpected but incredibly intriguing contender. For years, Netflix has operated without the deep library advantage that studios like Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. rely on. Their empire was built on originals, constant output and global reach. What they’ve never possessed is a century’s worth of globally recognizable IP or the kind of physical studio infrastructure that anchors a true Hollywood powerhouse. Acquiring Warner Bros. would change that overnight. Netflix is not trying to absorb the entire company either; like Comcast, they are targeting the studio, the HBO brand, and the Max platform. That slate alone would fundamentally rewrite Netflix’s identity. They would no longer just be the dominant streamer — they would instantly become one of the world’s largest content owners.

So why is Warner Bros. Discovery selling at all? The company’s trajectory has been unstable since the merger, and the result is a portfolio split between two realities: a declining cable empire and a streaming business that hasn’t reached the scale or profitability required to compete long-term. Cost-cutting bought time, but not salvation. The board has clearly accepted that the company’s future, at least as currently structured, is limited. A sale gives shareholders a premium exit. It relieves a portion of the debt load. And it hands the core assets to buyers with the capital and infrastructure to grow what Warner Bros. has historically done best.

This is not just a business story. Warner Bros. is one of the most foundational institutions in global entertainment. It’s the home of HBO’s prestige legacy, the DC universe, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings (where applicable), Dune, Barbie, The Matrix, The Sopranos, Friends, The West Wing and the most far-reaching studio lot in the world. The fact that this company is now on an open auction block is extraordinary, and the outcome will define how Hollywood looks for the next decade and beyond.

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What happens next is straightforward. Initial offers arrive November 20. Only then will the field narrow. Formal bids follow early next year. Barring any surprise regulatory chaos or an eleventh-hour twist, the chosen buyer will be locked in by the end of 2025. Until that moment, the industry is bracing for the kind of takeover battle that rewrites org charts, streaming strategies, and the futures of entire franchises.

Paramount sees survival and dominance. Comcast sees expansion and strategic leverage. Netflix sees the one opportunity that may never come again.

The most important studio in Hollywood is now officially for sale — and the entire industry is waiting to see who walks away with it.