Netflix and Paramount fight for a $108 billion prize

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CHART 1 • Netflix and Paramount fight for a $108 billion prize

This chart shows why Warner Bros Discovery has become the most contested asset in global media. In a single quarter the company generated roughly $9 billion in revenue and $4.5 billion in gross profit. Studios networks and streaming all contribute meaning Warner is still one of the few media groups with meaningful scale across old and new distribution.

That scale is exactly why the bidders are circling. Netflix has agreed a deal valuing Warner’s studio and streaming business at around $72 billion in equity (about $82 billion including debt). For Netflix it is a play for unmatched streaming dominance powered by DC Harry Potter and the HBO catalogue. Paramount has responded with a hostile all-cash bid worth $108.4 billion or $30 per share for the entire company including cable channels and news. It wants the full machine and is telling shareholders its offer is cleaner and faster to close. And, incase you missed it Warner Bros is planning to push back.

Back to the chart. Look again and the logic snaps into focus. Whoever wins controls a $9 billion-a-quarter revenue engine plus some of the most durable stories in entertainment.

If one buyer ends up holding all that cultural and commercial firepower does it strengthen the industry or simply concentrate too much power in one place?

Source: App Economy Insights

This is the defining story in the media industry right now. The battle for Warner Bros Discovery is not just about acquiring famous characters like Harry Potter. It is a fight for the structural dominance of screen time. Whether it is Netflix seeking a monopoly on attention or Paramount trying to defend its relevance the goal is to own the platform where modern culture is consumed.

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