“Harry Potter”, “Batman” and “Game of Thrones” change hands: Netflix buys Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion
Bloomberg information that Netflix and Warner Bros. are close to concluding a deal has been fully confirmed.
What is known
Netflix has published a press release in which it officially announced that it is purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery for $82.7 billion, making it one of the largest deals in the entertainment industry.
Thus, Netflix gains access to Warner Bros. franchises, including Harry Potter, DC Comics Universe, The Matrix, Mad Max, Scooby-Doo, The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, as well as the HBO channel.
And now, perhaps the main result of the deal for consumers: the strongest competitor of the Netflix streaming service — HBO Max becomes the full property of the former rival, and it remains to be seen how this will affect the traditionally premium quality of HBO movies and series, as Netflix seems to never set such a priority.
Cable channels CNN, TBS, and TNT are not included in the deal.
Next, we have to wait for the deal to be reviewed by regulators, and this process may take up to 1.5 years. If the merger is not approved, Netflix will pay compensation in the amount of $5 billion.
Source: Netflix
