Why Is Hollywood Freaking Out About a Warner Bros Discovery Sale?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From Hollywood to Rockefeller Plaza, news of a potential sale of Warner Bros Discovery has sent shockwaves through the film industry. And the current bidding war between streaming giant Netflix and film studio Paramount has all the hallmarks of an HBO prestige drama – from antitrust lawsuits to a hostile takeover bid – with implications for all of American media. We unpack it all with NPR’s critic-at-large and a legal expert. What are your questions, or concerns, about a potential Warner Bros merger? Guests: Eric Deggans, critic-at-large, National Public Radio (NPR) Rebecca Haw Allensworth, associate dean for research and professor of law, Vanderbilt Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:34.4	Subjects availability.
0:36.5	From KQED.
0:39.7	Welcome to Forum.
0:41.0	I'm Mina Kim.
0:42.3	When Netflix announced on December 5th,
0:44.8	a deal to buy the century-old
0:46.4	movie-making institution Warner Brothers,
0:48.9	it sent shockwaves through Hollywood.
0:50.7	For months, people had been expecting
0:52.2	and raising concerns about
0:53.8	a potential merger with
0:55.1	Paramount Skydance. Now it appears any deal may not happen for months as Paramount launches a so-called
1:01.8	hostile takeover bid for Warner Brothers, and Netflix scrambles to assuage fears that the streaming
1:07.0	giant won't be hostile to theatrical releases, giving us time to unpack what's
	...

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