Bloomberg Podcasts
@bloombergpodcasts·503K subscribers·32.4K videos
Warner Bros. Reopens Talks as Paramount Signals Higher Bid | Bloomberg Businessweek
Posted
February 18, 2026
Views
417
Likes
4
Engagement
0.96%
February 18, 2026
417
4
0.96%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
33:27Now PlayingThe people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube().
Warner Bros Discovery Inc. has agreed to reopen negotiations with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance Corp. after the suitor proposed raising its bid and sweetened other terms of its offer, setting the stage for a renewed showdown with Netflix.
Netflix, which Warner Bros. still described as its preferred bidder, has granted the board seven days to discuss Paramount’s most recent proposal, according to a statement Tuesday. The decision came after a Paramount banker told a Warner Bros. board member that Paramount would offer at least $31 a share, or $1 a share higher than its previous offer, if the company agreed to reopen talks. Warner Bros. now wants to see that, and other aspects of Paramount’s new bid, in writing.
Warner Bros. said the board still unanimously recommends shareholders vote in favor of its binding agreement to sell its namesake studios and HBO Max streaming business to Netflix for $27.75 a share, or $72 billion. Paramount’s all-cash $77.9 billion bid, which is backed by billionaire Larry Ellison, is for the entirety of Warner Bros., including its cable TV channels such as CNN and TNT that are otherwise planned to be spun off under a deal with Netflix. Warner Bros. has scheduled a shareholder vote on the Netflix deal for March 20.
The decision to reengage with Paramount, which confirms Bloomberg’s reporting Sunday, adds another twist in the long drawn-out saga over control of one of Hollywood’s most iconic properties. The fight for Warner Bros., the century-old studio behind films from Casablanca to Batman, and hit TV series like Friends, is one of the biggest media deals in years and has the power to reshape the entertainment industry.
Today's show features:
Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Media & Entertainment Lucas Shaw and Bloomberg News Senior M&A Reporter Michelle Davis on Warner Bros. Reopens Talks as Paramount Signals Higher Bid
Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Global Consumer Tech Mark Gurman on Apple Ramps Up Work on Glasses, Pendant and Camera AirPods (CLEAN UP LINE DROP)
Bloomberg News Finance Reporter Max Abelson on The Leon Black Files: Epstein Was Fixer for His Deepest Secrets
Drive to the Close with Bill Smead, Founder, Chairman and CIO of Smead Capital Management, on the energy market and his stock pick
See omnystudio.com/listener () for privacy information.
Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec bring together the latest news from the world of business and finance and the interesting stories of global technology, politics, economics and more by harnessing the power of Bloomberg Businessweek reporters and editors.
Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts
Listen to more of Bloomberg Businessweek
#Bloomberg #Podcast #News #Businessweek
Follow Bloomberg Podcasts on Twitter
Visit our other YouTube channels:
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Originals
For coverage on news, markets and more
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
