The hostile offer may outmuscle Netflix on price, but WBD’s decision hinges on competing futures: a clean reset under Paramount or a deeper strategic alignment with the world’s dominant streamer.

A core argument of Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery is this: WBD’s cable networks like CNN and TBS are not worth as much as the David Zaslav-led company’s deal with Netflix implies,

No, it’s not Netflix’s quest to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s Sumner Redstone’s long and painful struggle with Barry Diller to control Paramount three decades ago. The outcome reordered the media industry and created a new Hollywood dynasty.

Ted Sarandos calls it a “done deal,” though strictly speaking, that isn’t true. There will be a lot of business decisions left to be made, and the deal will require regulatory approval from the U.S. government to be sure there are no antitrust concerns. It's not unlike what Paramount itself needed when it merged with Skydance earlier this year.

Trump & Netflix are in sync, says CEO Ted Sarandos even as Paramount launches a new $108B bid for Warner Bros Discovery

Over the weekend, President Trump voiced concern over the combined market share of Netflix and Warner Bros.

Trump’s son-in-law is emerging as a central conduit for Gulf money moving into American media, and they’re backing the Ellisons and Paramount.