Paramount launches a rival bid for Warner Bros in an attempt to derail the Netflix deal

We only just announced Netflix had bought a large portion of Warner Bros, barring regulator and government scrutiny, when losing bidder Paramount has jumped back in with a counter offer, direct to shareholders. You can read their offer here. We aren’t surprised, given how protracted the recent deal between Skydance and Paramount itself was. We expect months of news but don’t worry, we only intend to follow in broad details. It is useful to give a little more detail and reflect on what the new developments might mean.

As Paramount launches its rival bid, we ask what it might mean

Let’s take the most helicopter view we can. In maybe 12-18 months, a deal of some sort looks to be happening. Whoever wins out of Netflix, Paramount or ANO, it will mean some consolidation in the streaming market. We’ve felt this was inevitable. Subscribers don’t want to have multiple subscriptions. It won’t suit everyone. Your subscriber of choice may win the deal and put prices up, but you get a lot more content. You might want the new content, but not subscribe to the winning party. Eventually the dust will settle.

Short term, expect a lot of news, lawyers, claims and counter-claims. It all seems a long way from an order procurement process, but what do we know!

What’s behind it all

In simple terms, subscriber base and content catalogue. There’s coverage at a high level in this BBC piece — Paramount launches rival bid for Warner Bros Discovery. As you might imagine, there’s a lot of coverage of this. If you want a longe read from closer to events, we suggest this piece from Variety — How Netflix’s WB Megadeal Stunned Hollywood — and Sparked a Fight From David Ellison. We’ll leave the story alone for now.