Netflix’s planned acquisition of Hollywood studio Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has fallen apart at the eleventh hour, as Paramount Skydance has made a “superior” proposal to buy the conglomerate for A$156 billion.

While the independence of the companies following the acquisition is unclear, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has already discussed plans to merge the portfolios of streamers Paramount and HBO Max to compete with Netflix.

Netflix withdrew from the process following Paramount Skydance’s proposal. It said WBD would have been “‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price”.

Who were the winners and losers in this hotly contested bidding war? And what happens next?

Winner #1: Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav

Longtime Discovery cable network CEO David Zaslav engineered his company’s merger with Warner Bros in 2022 to create Warner Bros Discovery.

This merger also saw the combination of Discovery’s reality content, Warner Bros’ film library and HBO’s quality TV series on the streaming service Max (now HBO Max), to challenge Netflix.

But Max didn’t live up to its name, as audiences for HBO originals such as The White Lotus showed little interest in Discovery shows like Dr Pimple Popper.

Unable to significantly lift WBD’s share price, Zaslav initiated plans to separate the failing cable assets, such as Discovery, from the streaming growth areas, such as HBO Max, in preparation to sell the company.

Despite Zaslav facing continued criticism, his gambit paid off, attracting........

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