11
Credit: Inside the MagicThe streaming wars have reached a new level of intensity, and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering is even more dramatic than anyone realized. Netflix, the company that revolutionized how we consume entertainment and forced traditional media giants to completely rethink their business models, apparently had far bigger ambitions than the Warner Bros. Discovery deal that recently made headlines.
According to a new Bloomberg report, Netflix didn’t just wake up one day and decide to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and HBO Max for $82.7 billion. The streaming service was actually eyeing much larger targets, including Disney and Fox, before internal disagreements and fears of massive overpayment convinced leadership to pursue different options.
For Disney fans and industry watchers, the revelation that Netflix considered acquiring The Walt Disney Company represents one of the most fascinating what-if scenarios in modern entertainment history. Imagine a world where Mickey Mouse, Marvel superheroes, Star Wars, Pixar animations, and the entire Disney theme park empire fell under Netflix’s corporate umbrella.
The implications would have been staggering, fundamentally reshaping not just streaming but the entire entertainment industry. Disney’s carefully curated family-friendly brand merged with Netflix’s algorithm-driven content strategy and willingness to experiment with edgier programming would have created something unprecedented.
The timing of these considerations matters. Netflix was exploring these potential acquisitions during a period when the streaming landscape was becoming increasingly crowded and competitive. Disney had just launched Disney Plus, which quickly amassed tens of millions of subscribers by leveraging its unmatched content library. Warner Bros. Discovery was struggling to find its footing after the merger that created it.
Fox had already sold most of its entertainment assets to Disney in a landmark 2019 deal, though certain properties remained separate. Netflix, despite its first-mover advantage in streaming, was starting to feel pressure from competitors with deeper content libraries and established production capabilities.
What makes this report particularly intriguing is what it reveals about Netflix’s strategic thinking during this critical period. The company wasn’t just looking to add content or expand its production capacity.
It was apparently considering acquisitions that would have made it the dominant force in global entertainment, controlling not just streaming distribution but vast libraries of intellectual property, production studios, cable networks, and in Disney’s case, theme parks and consumer products businesses worth tens of billions of dollars.
These weren’t modest expansion plans. These were empire-building ambitions on a scale rarely seen in media industry history.
What Actually Happened With Warner Bros. Discovery
Netflix ultimately pursued and secured a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and HBO Max for approximately $82.7 billion, including debt. The deal came together after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with President Donald Trump at the White House in mid-November for what became more than an hour-long discussion about the Warner Bros. Discovery auction.
During that meeting, Trump emphasized selling to the highest bidder, while Sarandos made Netflix’s case by arguing the company isn’t a monopoly and had recently experienced subscriber losses. That positioning apparently helped Netflix’s bid succeed against rival bidder Paramount Skydance Corp., which was preparing its own offer.
Sarandos framed the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition as a game-changer that would “accelerate business for decades” by combining Netflix’s global streaming reach with Warner Bros.’ established content production capabilities and iconic franchises.
The deal would give Netflix’s 300 million subscribers access to Warner Bros.’ extensive film and television library, HBO’s premium programming, and the production infrastructure to create even more content.
The acquisition still faces significant hurdles. Warner Bros. needs to spin off struggling cable networks. Paramount is preparing a hostile $108.4 billion bid and lobbying against Netflix in Washington. Most significantly, the Justice Department under President Trump might block the deal entirely due to antitrust concerns.
Trump himself warned that the Netflix-Warner Bros. combination “could be a problem” because of market share concentration, and he’ll be involved in the final decision about whether the deal can proceed.
Why Netflix Shelved Disney and Fox Acquisition Plans
According to the Bloomberg report, Netflix didn’t just casually consider Disney and Fox as potential acquisition targets. The company apparently conducted serious internal discussions about pursuing these major entertainment companies before ultimately deciding against it.
Two primary factors killed those ambitions: internal disagreements within Netflix leadership and serious concerns about overpaying for these massive assets. Both issues reveal important insights about how Netflix approaches major strategic decisions and what its leadership considers acceptable risk.
The internal disagreements suggest Netflix’s executive team wasn’t unified about whether acquiring Disney or Fox made strategic sense. Some executives likely argued that absorbing companies of that size would fundamentally change Netflix’s identity and operating model. Netflix built its success on being nimble, data-driven, and willing to experiment.
Acquiring Disney would have meant taking on theme parks, cruise ships, consumer products divisions, and legacy media businesses that operate nothing like Netflix’s core streaming service. The cultural integration challenges alone would have been enormous.
The fear of overpaying reflects hard lessons learned from previous tech and media megadeals that destroyed shareholder value. AOL’s acquisition of Time Warner, Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia, and numerous other cautionary tales litter corporate history books. Disney and Fox would have commanded premium prices reflecting their vast content libraries, established brands, and diversified revenue streams.
Netflix’s leadership apparently concluded that paying what Disney or Fox would demand would be too risky, potentially saddling Netflix with debt and integration challenges that could undermine its core business.
Netflix also apparently considered acquiring Electronic Arts, the video gaming giant behind franchises like FIFA, Madden NFL, and The Sims. That potential deal also fell apart due to internal disagreements and cost concerns, suggesting a pattern where Netflix explored major acquisitions across entertainment sectors but repeatedly backed away when executives couldn’t agree or when prices seemed too high.
What This Means for Disney
For Disney, the revelation that Netflix considered acquiring the company offers fascinating perspective on how other industry players view the entertainment giant’s value and strategic position. Netflix apparently saw Disney as worth pursuing despite the massive price tag and integration challenges that would come with such an acquisition.
Disney’s value proposition is obvious. The company controls some of entertainment’s most valuable intellectual property, including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Animation, and the classic Disney catalogue. It operates the world’s most successful theme parks, generating billions in annual revenue from guests visiting locations in Florida, California, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
Its consumer products business turns characters into merchandise that generates additional billions. Its cruise line continues expanding with new ships. And Disney Plus has become a major streaming competitor with over 100 million subscribers globally.
But Disney also represents exactly the kind of legacy media complexity that likely gave Netflix executives pause. The company operates cruise ships and theme parks that require massive capital investment and generate revenues completely unrelated to streaming.
Its traditional television networks like ABC and cable channels like ESPN face declining viewership and advertising revenue. Its theatrical film distribution business operates on models increasingly challenged by streaming. Integrating all of that into Netflix’s relatively focused streaming operation would have been extraordinarily complex.
Disney’s market capitalization typically ranges between $150 billion and $200 billion depending on stock performance, meaning any Netflix acquisition would have required financing far beyond the $82.7 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal. The regulatory scrutiny would have been intense given Disney’s size and the market concentration concerns such a deal would raise.
The Streaming Wars Continue
Netflix’s apparent consideration of Disney, Fox, and EA acquisitions before pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery reveals how seriously the company takes competition in the streaming space. These weren’t defensive moves by a struggling company. They were aggressive expansion plans by a market leader trying to maintain dominance as competitors gained strength.
Disney Plus, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and other services have collectively pulled away subscribers and content that Netflix once dominated. Every traditional media company now operates its own streaming service, fragmenting audiences and making it harder for any single platform to maintain the comprehensive content library Netflix once offered.
Netflix’s willingness to spend tens of billions acquiring major entertainment companies shows the stakes involved. Streaming isn’t just about technology and distribution anymore. It’s about controlling content production, owning intellectual property, and having enough resources to feed platforms with fresh programming that keeps subscribers engaged.
Whether the Warner Bros. Discovery deal ultimately succeeds or gets blocked by regulators, the mere fact that Netflix considered acquiring Disney and Fox demonstrates how dramatically the entertainment industry has changed. Companies that once seemed untouchable are now viewed as potential acquisition targets by streaming platforms that barely existed 20 years ago.
For Disney, the message is clear: Netflix sees the company as valuable enough to seriously consider acquiring, even if internal disagreements and cost concerns ultimately prevented pursuit of that deal. That’s both validating and slightly unsettling for a company that has always prided itself on independence and controlling its own destiny.