Billionaire-spawn David Ellison twice tried to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, and he and his new world-shaping toy Paramount Skydance were likely first in line when WBD announced they’d be exploring a sale after rebuffing Ellison’s second takeover bid.
A Deadline report brings an very interesting new prospective bidder into the market, however — streaming giant Netflix. Deadline’s Glenn Garner writes that Netflix has hired a financial advisory firm to explore a bid for WBD, a move that gives Netflix access
to much of Warner’s financial information. The firm Netflix has retained, Moelis & Co, is one Ellison & team worked when Skydance bought Paramount.
No wrestling fan should get too concerned or excited about what this could mean for AEW, which is still under contract with WBD for at least the next couple years. That’s because before Warners put themselves up for sale, the David Zaslav-led company announced plans to split in two. Netflix is apparently only interested in new “studios and streaming” WBD, and all indications are that the AEW deal would go with the other post-split business, “global networks”.
There could still be ramifications for AEW since if the split happened today, WBD global networks would be subleasing Dynamite, Collision, and PPVs to WBD studios & streaming. But all of that is a ways away.
Just thought we’d pass the news along, in case you’re at all interesting in the streaming wars and media consolidation… for wrestling or “health of the free world” related reasons.
