{"id":561080,"date":"2026-02-17T10:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/?p=561080"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:51:19","slug":"paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/2026\/02\/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount\u2019s Renewed Warner Bros. Bid Means More Suspense for L.A.\u2019s Film Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Hollywood ending could be in store for the <\/span>struggling Los Angeles film industry<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warner Bros. Discovery<\/b> (WBD) has reopened talks with <\/span>Paramount\/Skydance<\/b> (PSKY) about assuming control of its studio and streaming business, setting the stage for a second bidding war against <\/span>Netflix<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Netflix <\/span>granted<\/span><\/a> WBD a seven-day waiver to reopen talks with Paramount two months after it struck a $72 billion <\/span>agreement<\/span><\/a> to acquire the 103-year old Hollywood company\u2019s studio and streaming business. The Netflix deal was challenged by a higher <\/span>all-cash hostile takeover bid<\/span><\/a> of $30 per share by the <\/span>David Ellison<\/b>-run Paramount.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

WBD said in a<\/span> release<\/span><\/a> Tuesday that it continues to favor the Netflix offer but will engage in discussions with Paramount through Feb. 23\u00a0 to seek \u201cclarity\u201d for stockholders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the entire process, our sole focus has been on maximizing value and certainty for WBD shareholders,\u201d<\/span> David Zaslav<\/b>, president and CEO of WBD, said in a statement. \u201cWe are engaging with PSKY now to determine whether they can deliver an actionable, binding proposal that provides superior value and certainty for WBD shareholders through their best and final offer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr<\/b>., chair of the WBD board of directors, noted in a statement that it continues \u201cto believe the Netflix merger is in the best interests of WBD shareholders\u201d due to having a \u201cclear path\u201d for regulatory approval and the deal’s \u201cprotections for shareholders against downside risk.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The duel between Netflix and Paramount for control of Warner Bros. comes nearly a year after March 2025 data from the <\/span>Otis College Report on the Creative Economy <\/b>showed that Southern California’s production levels had<\/span> sunk<\/span><\/a> 50 to 70 percent below their peak in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Netflix is in the mix to take over WBD as it considers <\/span>relocating<\/span><\/a> from some of its Hollywood office buildings partly due to crime concerns. The streaming giant has been expanding its national real estate footprint, in part by developing a new<\/span> Brooklyn soundstage<\/span><\/a> that opened in 2021. Netflix also<\/span> broke ground<\/span><\/a> on a $1 billion production facility in New Jersey last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew Coen can be reached at <\/span><\/i>acoen@commercialobserver.com<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Hollywood ending could be in store for the struggling Los Angeles film industry. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has reopened talks with Paramount\/Skydance (PSKY) about assuming control of its studio and streaming business, setting the stage for a second bidding war against Netflix. Netflix granted WBD a seven-day waiver to reopen talks with Paramount two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":177935190,"featured_media":561079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-02-17T15:51:25Z","apple_news_api_id":"d3047a9a-bfa7-4de1-9109-03473f89eadf","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-17T15:51:25Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A0wR6mr-nTeGRCQNHP4nq3w","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[598395012,231408,8590],"tags":[598390952,598337831,598405367],"industry_type":[598394818,598394846],"company":[1182,598389016,542859,598390003],"market":[1337,598352034,25270,598351395,425193216],"sponsored":[],"coauthors":[598360636],"class_list":{"0":"post-561080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-capital-markets","8":"category-channel","9":"category-economy","10":"tag-david-ellison","11":"tag-david-zaslav","12":"tag-samuel-a-di-piazza","13":"industry_type-industrial","14":"industry_type-studios-soundstages","15":"observer_company-netflix","16":"observer_company-paramount-global","17":"observer_company-paramount-pictures","18":"observer_company-warner-bros-discovery","19":"market-california","20":"market-southern-california","21":"market-los-angeles","22":"market-hollywood","23":"market-national"},"acf":{"alternative_og_image":""},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/2026\/02\/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Paramount\u2019s Renewed Warner Bros. Bid Means More Suspense for L.A.\u2019s Film Industry","url":"http:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/2026\/02\/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/2026\/02\/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-netflix\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/David-Zaslav-David-Ellison-Warner-Bros-credit-Getty-Images.jpg?quality=80&w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/commercialobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/David-Zaslav-David-Ellison-Warner-Bros-credit-Getty-Images.jpg?quality=80"},"articleSection":"Economy","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Coen"}],"creator":["Andrew Coen"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Commercial Observer","logo":""},"keywords":["david ellison","david zaslav","samuel a. di piazza","capital markets","economy","channel","industrial","studios\/soundstages","netflix","paramount global","paramount pictures","warner bros. discovery","acoen","california","southern california","los angeles","hollywood","national"],"dateCreated":"2026-02-17T15:51:19Z","datePublished":"2026-02-17T15:51:19Z","dateModified":"2026-02-17T15:51:19Z"},"rendered":"