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Netflix did not buy Warner Bros. It abandoned its proposed acquisition in February 2026, and Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on October 6, 2026. Netflix’s original proposal would have covered Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, and HBO Max—but those assets never became Netflix properties.
What Netflix proposed to acquire
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a definitive agreement on December 5, 2025, for Netflix to acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max, and HBO. The deal was structured around a planned separation of WBD’s Global Networks business, Discovery Global, before the acquisition closed. Netflix’s announcement described these businesses and services as the deal’s scope; it did not publish a canonical list of exactly five properties.
The five entries below are therefore examples drawn from the announced scope, not a definitive five-item list and not a list of assets Netflix ever owned.
1. Warner Bros. film studio
The proposed acquisition included Warner Bros.’ film studio. Netflix’s announcement did not enumerate individual film franchises or titles as separate assets in the deal, so the studio itself—not a selected set of films—is the grounded way to describe this part of the proposal.
2. Warner Bros. television studio
Warner Bros.’ television studio was also within the proposed scope. This refers to the studio business, rather than a claim that every program associated with Warner Bros. would have transferred under identical rights or distribution arrangements.
3. HBO
HBO was explicitly included in Netflix’s announced proposal. The proposed transaction did not close, so Netflix never acquired HBO through this agreement.
4. HBO Max
HBO Max, the streaming service identified in the announcement, was another part of the proposed scope. Its inclusion was conditional on the acquisition closing; it did not become a Netflix service as a result of the abandoned deal.
5. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Warner Bros. business
“Warner Bros.” was the overall business Netflix proposed to acquire, encompassing the studio and HBO-related assets described above. This fifth entry is a way to name the transaction’s central business, not an additional, separately enumerated property in Netflix’s announcement.
Rank #3
Why Netflix did not acquire them
On February 26, 2026, Netflix said it would not raise its offer after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board determined that Paramount Skydance’s latest proposal was a “Superior Proposal” under the existing merger agreement. Netflix’s announcement quoted co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters saying they believed Netflix would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ brands; that was the company’s stated view, not an independent assessment of what the deal would have achieved.
Because Netflix declined to raise its offer, its proposed acquisition did not proceed. Netflix cited a proposed total enterprise value of $82.7 billion and equity value of $72.0 billion in its December 2025 announcement. Those were proposed transaction valuations, not a purchase price paid: Netflix did not complete the acquisition.
Rank #4
![4-Film Collection: Alfred Hitchcock [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51lMiJEeOjL._SL160_.jpg)
- 4-FILM COLLECTION: ALFRED HITCHCOCK
- Product Type: PHYSICAL MOVIE
- Brand: Warner Archives
Who owns Warner Bros. now?
The Associated Press reported that Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on October 6, 2026. AP described HBO Max and Harry Potter among the properties under the resulting company’s umbrella, which it identified as Skydance. That closing—not Netflix’s earlier proposal—is the relevant ownership outcome for readers asking whether Netflix bought Warner Bros.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Netflix, “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Following the Separation of Discovery Global for a Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion,” December 5, 2025
- Netflix, “Netflix Declines to Raise Offer for Warner Bros.,” February 26, 2026
- Associated Press, “Paramount completes its takeover of Warner Bros to become one Hollywood giant known as Skydance,” October 6, 2026
- Associated Press, “From HBO Max to ‘Harry Potter,’ here’s what’s now under the Skydance umbrella,” October 6, 2026
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