Late last week, Netflix struck an $82.7 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. However, a recent report from Bloomberg suggests that before the Warner Bros. bidding war started, the streaming giant had flirted with the idea of pursuing EA Games, Fox (before the Disney merger), or Disney itself.
Netflix reportedly considered buying Disney.
(via https://t.co/ibFKl7S7In) pic.twitter.com/vziuyoK9cM
— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) December 8, 2025
According to Bloomberg, what held the streamer back from making a move was that “executives could never coalesce behind a deal.” What’s unclear is how committed those within Netflix were, as the discussions reportedly took place during meetings where Netflix was simply determining its long-term strategy.
Building or Buying
Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters is on record as saying, “One should have a reasonable amount of skepticism around big media mergers, they don’t have an amazing track record.” That statement led many to believe that Netflix wasn’t interested in pursing Warner Bros. However, it’s becoming clear that the company’s skepticism was based in caution, not complete dismissal of the possibility.
Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters in an interview with Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Live
Outside of the boardroom, Netflix has always presented itself as a company focused on making its own path. In an investor call after the Warner Bros. announcement, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos acknowledged this, saying, “I know some of you are surprised that we’re making this acquisition, and I certainly understand why. Over the years, we have been known to be builders, not buyers.”
“I know some of your surprise that we’re making this acquisition, and I certainly understand why. Over the years, we have been known to be builders, not buyers,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Wall Street analysts of the Warner Bros. buy https://t.co/GkPlpgyJxr
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 5, 2025
Evidently, there were some within Netflix that were looking to build its portfolio, whether that be in pre-established game or film IP. While Disney has long been viewed as the crown jewel in entertainment, Netflix brass may have been biding their time, waiting for the right moment to pursue a major acquisition. When Warner Bros. unexpectedly went up on the auction block, Netflix decided to make a big move.
“This is a rare opportunity. It’s going to help us achieve our mission to entertain the world and to bring people together through great stories,” Sarandos told investors.
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos – YouTube, WSJ News
READ: Paramount Hacked — X Bio Rewritten to Accuse Studio of Serving a “Fascist Regime”
One reason Netflix may have decided against making a bid for Disney was that the executives were afraid such a move could “hurt their stock price by overpaying for an asset that traded at a much lower multiple.” The idea of overpaying for an asset is something that has been heavily discussed ever since Paramount’s David Ellison made increasing offers to buy Warner Bros.
Big Moves and Bigger Risks
Days after Warner Bros. and Netflix announced that they had come to an agreement, Paramount took its offer directly to Warner Bros. stockholders in an attempted hostile takeover. Should it be successful, Netflix will walk away empty-handed and Ellison will control the assets of two legacy studios.
David Ellison in an interview with Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Podcasts
Since the battle for Warner Bros. reignited Monday morning, Investopedia noted some flux in all of the stock values of all the major players. Monday afternoon they reported, “Warner Bros. stock was recently some 3%, rising to near $29 on Monday, while Paramount’s was up more than 8%. Netflix, meanwhile, was moving in the other direction, down more than 4%.”
Ultimately, those on the Netflix board who discouraged pursuing Disney out of fear it would negatively affect their stock may be proven right, just with a different studio merger in the equation. Even if Ellison is unsuccessful, Netflix still faces regulatory hurdles. If the deal fails to pass antitrust or foreign regulatory scrutiny, Netflix will have to pay Warner Bros. $5.8 billion.
A graphic showing the Netflix and Warner Bros. Logos – Netflix
Big moves require big risks. Netflix decided not to take a risk by moving on Disney. If the Warner Bros. deal collapses—whether due to Paramount’s hostile bid or regulatory scrutiny—Netflix may wish it had continued building, not buying.
Do you think Netflix was seriously interested in buying Disney? Let us know in the comments!
It feels like the only way Disney will ever be able to excise the cancer it has allowed to grow, the cancer that has snuffed their creativity, is through a buy out. Changing out the figurehead when Iger “retires” again isn’t suddenly going to change the direction of the TV and Film teams and infuse them with quality.
Netflix was smart to steer away from this purchase. Plus, what does Netflix know about amusement parks and cruise lines? And would Disney allow Netflix to spin off the physical assets and only absorb the media?
Considering the timelines of most Disney roadmaps, Iger has created the ground work so that anything Disney does well over the next decade he’ll be able to claim as a success that was incubated by him. And any failure is because the new leadership wasn’t doing anything right.
A Netflix purchase would probably have failed at the board level, a group of people completely under Iger’s thumb, because Iger can’t compromise his legacy by letting Netflix come in and gut his own plans.
FIRST….to buy something the something must want to SELL. Disney does not.
SECOND…..this Sarandos guy is a liar left right and center as he has been about being “dedicated” to theatrical release even though we know he HATES it as exposed in the whole WB/PAR kerfuffle.
THIRD….take all else away from him as we all do, Big Bob isn’t STUPID enough to get involved with a charlatan like Sarandos AND the regulatory issues of merging the whole DplusHuluESPN confabulation into Netflix would be, perhaps, even BIGGER than those that will stall and break the WB purchase for them
So you’re saying that if WB falls through, Netflix won’t set its sights on Disney after all?
I miss you, your articles, and your grasp of the English language.
This would have been a beautiful partnership! Much like when Eve plucked that apple.
A joke doing the rounds (tweaked a bit by me).
A rabbi, a lesbian woman, a trans, a teen Latina hacker girl, a black girl boss, a black gay, a white overly-racist guy / simp, and another black woman with a PhD walks into a bar.
Bartender: “What this, a new Netflix series?”