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Warner Bros. Stock Rises. These Three Media Giants Are Circling, Report Says.

Nov 14, 2025 07:17:00 -0500 by George Glover | #M&A

Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix are all preparing bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Key Points

Warner Bros. Discovery stock was rising on Friday after a report said that a bidding war for the company that could upend the media industry may kick off next week.

Warner Bros. shares climbed 2.7% to $22.73 in early trading. The S&P 500 was 0.9% lower, as the rotation out of Big Tech continued.

Paramount Skydance , Comcast , and Netflix are all readying bids for the entertainment company, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deadline for submitting nonbinding first-round bids is Nov. 20, and Warner Bros. hopes to have the process completed by the end of the year, per the report.

Paramount is interested in buying the whole of Warner Bros. Discovery—which has a market capitalization of around $55 billion—while Comcast and Netflix would be bidding for the studios and streaming business, which covers the rights to movie characters like Harry Potter and Batman, as well as the HBO Max streaming platform.

Warner Bros., Paramount, and Netflix didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Barron’s. Comcast declined to comment.

Media companies have been eyeing up deals this year in a bid to beef up their streaming portfolios as legacy TV viewership plummets.

Paramount and Skydance completed their long-awaited merger in August, and the new company agreed soon after to a deal that will give it the broadcast rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Comcast’s Sky is in talks to buy a part of the British broadcaster ITV for $2.1 billion, both companies said last week.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com