CNN is facing a devastating future after its parent company was stripped apart in a $72 billion takeover that leaves the legacy news network dangling on its own.
Netflix confirmed Friday it is swallowing Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming operations, marking the streamer’s most aggressive bid yet to dominate global entertainment.
The deal ends a fierce corporate battle that involved Paramount and Comcast. Netflix offered $27.75 a share to Warner Bros. Discovery, giving the company control of one of Hollywood’s most influential content libraries.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos celebrated the move, calling it an opportunity to merge iconic entertainment with modern streaming juggernauts.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Sarandos said. He praised Warner Bros.’ library, citing films like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Harry Potter and Friends alongside Netflix franchises such as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
The acquisition is expected to close by the third quarter of 2026. The final transaction could take as long as 12 to 18 months.
While Netflix gains access to decades of valuable film and television content, CNN is being cut loose. Warner Bros. Discovery will spin off the cable news channel as a separate company under its Discover Global plan.
Executives have blamed CNN and other aging cable networks for dragging down profits and damaging the stock value of the entire corporation.
The news giant’s separation mirrors the move made by Comcast earlier this year when it dumped its own struggling news brand into a standalone entity. MSNBC now faces the same shrinking ratings and collapsing ad dollars that plague the industry, Trending Politics reported.
For CNN, the spinoff leaves it without the financial shield of a major studio. The network will now have to survive on its own as cable viewership continues to decline nationwide.
This comes at a time when Netflix is expanding its control over brand-name media properties. The deal hands the company access to the DC Universe, The Big Bang Theory, HBO-related titles and one of the largest film catalogs in modern entertainment.
Netflix currently dominates the streaming market with 301.6 million subscribers. That is more than 100 million ahead of its closest competitor, Amazon Prime Video.
Paramount pushed hard to compete for Warner Bros. and had shown interest in acquiring CNN, especially after tech heir David Ellison led Skydance’s takeover of Paramount and CBS News.
Despite those efforts, Netflix outbid both Paramount and Comcast, cementing itself as the industry’s undisputed heavyweight.
Analysts warn that CNN’s future now depends on its ability to survive outside the umbrella of major studio funding. Without Warner Bros. backing and facing dwindling cable subscribers, the network is entering its most vulnerable moment in decades.
Netflix grows stronger. Warner Bros. leaves with a new owner. CNN gets cut loose and must fend for itself in a collapsing cable news market.
