Media’s New Soap Opera: Netflix, Paramount, & Warner Bros. Discovery 12/17/25

Squawk Pod

CNBC

Business News, News, Investing, Business

4.2 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Warner Bros. Discovery board has unanimously recommended shareholders reject Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for the company’s film and streaming assets. Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters joins CNBC’s David Faber, Becky Quick, and Andrew Ross Sorkin to discuss Netflix’s winning bid for Warner Bros., HBO, and HBO Max. Media watcher Rich Greenfield delves into the funding details of each offer, and Becky shares her own reporting on shareholder Mario Gabelli’s reaction to the news. Plus, it’s likely to be the biggest IPO of the year: Medline, a 58-year-old company you may have never heard of. CEO Jim Boyle explains why now was the perfect time for a public listing. Greg Peters - 15:05 Rich Greenfield - 27:14 Jim Boyle - 38:26 In this episode: Rich Greenfield, @RichLightShed David Faber, @davidfaber Becky Quick, @BeckyQuick Andrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkin Cameron Costa, @CameronCostaNY

Transcript

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0:00.0	Bring in show music, please.
0:03.0	This is Squawk Pod, and I'm CNBC producer Cameron Costa.
0:08.0	On today's episode, will they? Won't they?
0:12.0	This could take a while.
0:13.0	Warner Brothers Discovery tells shareholders that Netflix's deal is better than Paramount's hostile bid.
0:20.0	It's drama fit for a prestige streaming series.
0:23.8	Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters sat down with CNBC's David Faber only on Squackbox. He says they're the ones to win.
0:32.9	Our deal structure is clean. It's certain. We're a scaled company with over a 400 billion market cap.
0:38.3	We've got strong investment-grade balance sheet. This deal offers flexibility for Warner Brothers
0:42.4	to do what they're planning on doing. And media analyst Rich Greenfield weighs in on the script,
0:47.9	Paramount writes from here. My guess is Paramount doesn't have the money right now and they are out
0:52.6	searching for dollars because as you see, they wouldn't have gone to the Middle East if they had the money right now and they are out searching for dollars because
0:54.2	as you see, they wouldn't have gone to the Middle East if they had the money.
0:56.8	Then the biggest IPO of the year comes in 2025's 11th hour.
1:02.2	Healthcare supplies distributor Medline has been around forever in case you haven't heard of them.
1:08.1	CEO Jim Boyle joins us on the day of its debut.
1:11.7	We are the largest company you've never heard of, and we happen to be everywhere, which is a pretty interesting thing.
1:16.6	Plus, the rest of today's news that got us squawking, it's Wednesday, December 17, 2025,
1:23.0	and Squawk Pod begins right now.
1:25.5	Stand Becky by in three, two, one.
1:28.3	Coole, please.
1:29.3	Good morning, everybody.
	...

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