Netflix in talks to acquire the entire Warner Brothers IP library

For the past several years, Warner Brothers has been the subject of a series of rumors pointing to financial hardship and the possibility of at least licensing some of its major IPs like the DC universe. In late October this year, the Warner Brothers. Discovery conglomerate announced that it has initiated a "review of strategic alternatives" prompted by unsolicited interest from multiple parties including two major streaming companies - Paramount Skydance and Netflix - as well as Comcast, and to a lesser degree Apple and Sony.

While Paramount Skydance’s several offers have been repeatedly turned down, it looks like Netflix’s approach that does not focus on acquiring the entire conglomerate is rumored to be somewhat more favored.

CNBC reports that, in order to formulate a solid bid and acquisition strategy, Netflix is collaborating with Moelis & Co. -  the investment bank that advised Skydance Media prior to acquiring Paramount Global. Netflix apparently expressed an interest in acquiring only the library of IPs and production assets rather than completely merge with Warner Brothers. Discovery.

This primary IP focus would also see the acquisition of the WB film studios together with the HBO Max streaming platform. However, Netflix is not interested in owning the existing legacy media networks like CNN, TNT, Food Network and Animal Planet. Some industry critics are concerned that, with this acquisition, Netflix would not facilitate any future theatrical movie releases for the WB franchises, limiting them to stream-only.

The acquisition of the entire IP library from WB would allow Netflix to exclusively offer many beloved franchises such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and DC Comics source material plus movies. Moreover, Netflix would own the rights to expand all these universes, so the company could, for example,  start producing spin-off TV shows and even full feature movies based on the aforementioned franchises. Of course, this prospect is now used to spin new rumors like the possible return of Henry Cavill as Superman, with Netflix eventually allowing Zack Snyder to complete his DCEU Justice League trilogy. This probably sounds far-fetched, since James Gunn is in charge of the new DC Universe initiative, but Netflix could push for the creation of new TV shows as Gunn's contracts would become Netflix property.