Warner Bros is potentially being sold off

Iconic Warner Bros. logo featuring the signature blue and gold shield design.

News has been circulating that Warner Bros is thinking of selling parts off to other companies, and this may include IPs such as DC and their production arm. Speculation has involved talks of the whole of Warner Bros being sold off. This is due to the company restructuring to cover debts by selling sectors or even the full company off.

The $36bn debt is under the whole WBD company. The debt may be more than the estimated amount, and it seems, according to reports, that WBD is now motivated to get the debt down. WBD is planning to focus on its streaming arm according to AInvest, with the landscape of media and production going in the way of streaming as opposed to Cinemas and traditional TV.

WBD doesn’t just do DC as they also run streaming giants such as HBO, which have many successful shows under its belt, and also run news channels such as CNN and Discovery. A lot of WBD’s reach is not just within one realm, which makes a potential buyout even more consequential for the industry and what happens within the WBD landscape.

The effects of wider consolidation and companies buying out each other can bring more money into smaller projects; however, the downsides are that more risky and original ideas may be less likely to be made due to the risk of losing subscribers or money. With platforms like YouTube helping small creatives flourish, there is still a need for smaller studios within these companies.

In the early era of Hollywood, this had become an issue with a small number of companies owning power within the industry. This meant that creatives such as actors and actresses were locked under contracts to stay only working for one company, and it meant that creative ideas had to go through a strict creative lens, such as the Hays Code.

Even though it’s not as much of a monopoly as it was back then, there is still an issue starting to arise in the streaming space of bigger companies such as Netflix buying up IPs and making different shows less accessible to viewers, and having content locked behind different services. This is compared to Linear TV and cinema, where the customer has more choices, instead of being limited to whether that film is or is not on the platform they are subscribed to.

At the start, Netflix was a miracle for a lot of viewers who wanted everything in one place. It was also cheaper; however, once more companies jumped onto the streaming model, this has opened up a dilemma of competition and the race to grab the best and most popular IPs for a platform to bring in more customers.

This leads to the result of studios such as WBD having to move to sell off and split their company up to streamline and pay off debts. To keep up in the streaming race takes a lot of money nowadays, and this can eventually create debts for some companies, even bigger ones that eventually need to be filled, whether that’s with layoffs or a full buyout.

The group aims to reduce a $36 billion debt as the company split into a production branch and a streaming branch back in June 2025, as noted by the Financial Times. WBD and its creditors agreed to buy back $14 billion of the debt, but a substantial amount remained. JPMorgan provided a $17 billion bridge loan to cover some of the remaining bonds.

Another reason they are considering a buyout option is that it is the most effective way to eliminate most of the debt. Not paying off this debt could eventually lead to less money being allocated to projects, and more cost-cutting measures will be necessary to focus entirely on paying off that debt. This could pose a risk of audiences withdrawing support due to decreased quality.

There are quick changes that need to be made due to the shifting landscape from linear TV to the current streaming environment. Although it’s been a few years since streaming became more prominent, some companies are still adjusting to this model and balancing the costs required to stay competitive with the larger streamers. Reducing this debt quickly can lead to less financial risk in the long run and prevent it from negatively affecting the budget for future projects. This allows investors within WBD to have enough budget not only to take risks but also to acquire more high-end IPs and trending content without increasing financial risk from the debt.

If the debt isn’t paid off, it becomes harder for WBD to cover costs as the debt accumulates over time until it becomes unmanageable. Sometimes, buyouts are the simpler and faster way to address debts, even if it involves giving up part of the business. In the long run, this approach can be the best for WBD.

Reuters stated that after WBD announced its split, Fitch downgraded their rating to junk. This is because the company might become smaller, and while this could make WDB easier to manage, it also means they won’t be able to diversify as much. Fewer risks will be taken on projects, and with this split and a focus mainly on streaming, there may be more emphasis on that direction rather than traditional cinema projects.

Changes similar to splitting the company into two arms are aimed at cutting down on costs, but also to bring in new investors by appealing to a newer landscape of streaming and easy access. Having two different sections helps bring a sharper focus and direction. They are also hoping to focus more on IP projects, such as DC, to bring in a higher return.

Buyers would be interested in WBD not only because of the vast amount of IPs and content they already own, but also due to the profitability and potential that comes with acquiring WBD. For larger companies like Netflix and Disney, it offers a way to expand their current library, especially for Netflix, which could add a whole catalog of HBO content and movies to its platform, potentially attracting new customers.

WBD has some big IPs, such as DC, that are known worldwide, and many other companies have been in talks or are being sold off, such as ITV and EA. This could mean that with more companies being bought out due to debt that entertainment companies may avoid taking more risky investments to avoid this happening to them.

There may be a push for more IP-related content that has a higher return and less risk for more original ideas. There will be more interest in ideas that could branch out to a franchise to bring back more return, along with more of a push for series then just singular films or films that can bring more than one iteration. With the decline of the Linear TV structure, production companies are looking into ways to adapt to these major changes and to bring back more lucrative returns.

Buying WBD can bring a lot of attention to not only the company that decides to buy them, but also bring a lot of content to those catalogs, along with fans of these shows or franchises. According to CNBC, “Superman” generated $220 million globally during its opening weekend, which the company said was the “strongest ever debut for a solo Superman film.”

When it comes to only a part of WBD being sold apart from the whole thing. This option is the less risky one however from looking into what would be the most popular part of WBD that would be sold will most likely be their IPs and their streaming division, which is what brings majority of WBD’s profits, so with the streaming and IP’s being sold off could end up leaving WBD taking in less money because of their linear TV side.

If WBD sells off their streaming or some of their bigger IP’S however this could mean that they would be able to pay majority or most of the debt off considering that some of their IP’S and streaming services are one of the biggest with a large viewerbase such as DC and many HBO shows such as House Of Dragons and Game of Thrones being big hits for HBO and WBD.

For example, WBD states on their website that House of the Dragon drew 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max in the U.S, and this was just within the opening night of the show. It’s not just the Game of Thrones series that brought in revenue for HBO. Westworld seasons 1 and 2 brought in many viewers, even though this eventually declined over time.

HBO has become a household name, so selling it to another company could generate significant revenue not only for WBD but also for anyone interested in acquiring HBO along with its IPs. In the long term, many viewers will continue to follow their favorite shows, like House of the Dragons, on different streaming platforms such as Netflix, making HBO a valuable IP over time.

In the long term, it could affect how investors choose to invest in bigger projects and productions with bigger budgets. This could create more hesitancy within the Film and TV market, along with a push towards more IP-based projects, especially ones that already have a bigger audience and can bring more revenue in. Small creatives may choose to self-publish on YouTube or on platforms such as Patreon to gain that audience in the future.

The contenders to buy WBD are Paramount/Skydance, Netflix, and Comcast. This includes rumours that the Saudi Arabian government may be interested specifically in its Public Investment Fund. The Wrap has covered that there may have been “Advanced discussions” between Paramount and the investment fund; however, via Variety Australia, Paramount and Skydance have disputed these claims.

Netflix is another contender and is interested in buying up IPs, which can help grow its already large content library and bring in newer subscribers. However, with Netflix, some hurdles could make this acquisition a trickier one compared to others. This will especially be trickier if WBD decides to sell off fully, then in parts. There could also be a bidding war between different IPs, so it could be nearly impossible to get all of WBD’s IPs.

Comcast is one of the other names that is being thrown around as being interested in buying. The most important aspect is that Comcast owns Peacock, which has been struggling compared to the other streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney. Having WBD’s library can help Comcast compete or be on a similar level to the streaming giants. Similar to Netflix, Comcast is more interested in the content and streaming side than its cable portfolio, as noted in the LA Times.

Splitting into two may be more of a risk for WBD on the production side, but when it comes to selling sections of WBD, it turns out to be a better decision. Giving investors a better decision and a clear-cut focus on what they could buy. Buying the whole company on the investor side means that there may be parts that may not work as well and are harder to get rid of.

The linear side of WBD compared to the streaming side is less popular nowadays, compared to the power of the WBD streaming division. It is more likely that companies will be more interested in the streaming and IP side than they would be in the linear TV side. This also means that both sides can be valued separately, then as a whole, and makes it easier for not only WBD but also buyers to make more similar decisions with WBD being split.

Linear TV has been on a decline for many years, especially with the easier access to streaming. The Guardian has stated that “In the UK, the share of people watching any traditional broadcast TV weekly dropped from ~ 83% in 2021 to ~ 79% in 2022.” More people are moving to streaming, and this is not just within the UK but also worldwide.

With the downfall of linear TV, it’s not a surprise that investors would be more interested in the streaming and IP section. Audiences are moving to streaming, meaning that the section of WBD that is focused on linear TV could struggle if it were bought off of WBD or if another company decides to buy that section. The Guardian had already noted “ in one report, only around 54% of 16‑ to 24‑year‑olds in Britain watched live TV.”

There are many elements that are in play for this deal that could ripple with wider consequences for the industry. This includes not only changes to how the media industry works on an investment level, but also on a production level, especially with the Saudi government potentially interested in a deal as well. It comes to question whether WBD will choose to sell off even parts of the company or if it will choose to just restructure and make major cuts within the company to cover that debt.

In recent news, it has been shown that Netflix is now ahead in inquiring WBD; however, this doesn’t end the race with Paramount putting forward a counter deal. Netflix is interested in the streaming and the IP side of WBD, and this would make sense, with Netflix mainly being a streaming service first, they would be more interested in that side of WBD. Paramount, however, has offered to buy out the whole of WBD. It will be interesting to see who WBD chooses to go with.

This deal could benefit many of the buyers interested, so there may be a lot of competition, especially when it comes to WBD’s streaming and IPs. Having popular content on your streaming platform is very important in today’s media landscape, especially content that is based around trending or popular IPs, which WBD is full of.

Since no final decision has been fully made, WBD has decided to focus more on its IPs within HBO and DC for its streaming and studios divisions. This is evident from successful projects like Superman and Peacemaker, which have brought significant benefits to DC. HBO has rebranded to HBO Max to better leverage the branding that contributes to its success.