Hollywood Week: Netflix, Skydance, Comcast, Bid for Warner Bros, Kimmel-Trump Wars, The Landman Hits
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- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 22 November 2025 08:59
- Written by Janet Walker
Streaming giant Netflix, Skydance, and Comcast, have each submitted bids to Warner Bros. Chief David Zaslav, for Warner Bros. Discovery, as he shops the storied company in a deal he hopes to conclude by end of year.
It had been rumored early in the year that Zaslav was planning to split the company into two parts, and explore a sale of Warner Bros., Discovery while holding onto the global networks including cable networks, and linear television. Other assets, within the global networks, include Bleacher Report and TNT Sports, both high ticket items in the increasingly coveted sports space.
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Streaming giant Netflix and Comcast have submitted bids for one half of the company, the Warner Bros Discovery, which includes the Warner Bros film and TV Studios, DC Studios (meaning DC comics franchises) and streaming channels HBO and HBO MAX.
It wasn't long after the acquisition of Paramount that Skydance owner David Ellison began a buying spree, and next on his list appeared to be the struggling Warner Bros company. Ellison, of the three bidders, is the only suitor that is vying for the entire company.
The Wall Street Journal reported "Paramount has already put in three previous unsolicited offers for Warner Discovery, which were rebuffed. Paramount was expected to make a mostly cash offer in the same range as its last bid of about $23.50 a share."
Each of Paramount's last three bids were rejected by Zaslav, and David Ellison, Paramount-Skydance Chief, son of Oracle founder, and Larry Ellison, who had unlimited cash reserves, has exhibited a determination to acquire the struggling company.
Whether Zaslav believes that Ellison is not the right fit or believes that not every acquisition can be as easily acquired as Paramount, even with unlimited cash reserves, his bravado might be repugnant.
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Of the other players, should streaming leader Netflix end up the winner in the initial bidding they would add to their resources the additional streaming channels and several film studios under the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, including the main Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, DC Studios, and Castle Rock Entertainment. In addition to these, the group also has a minority stake in Spyglass Media Group.
If Netflix and Chief Ted Sarandos, who is only bidding for WBD, survives to the end and comes out the victor, the streaming giant which currently has, at any given time, nearly 150 films in production, the acquisition could boost its output, significantly increasing its streaming content offerings, and then increasing its global expansion.
The last of the bidders, Comcast, led by CEO Brian Roberts, which is under the umbrella of Comcast NBC Universal, and is also only bidding for WBD, seems to have caught the attention of Wall Street analysts who believe the company has the most to gain from the acquisition.
"If NBCU and Peacock's parent company can add Warner Bros. Studios and HBO to its arsenal, it could become a media powerhouse that could challenge the likes of Disney. Comcast has always had Disney envy, and now it has a clear opportunity to create a Disney-like story, with an asset mix that could be even more compelling than Disney," wrote Rich Greenfield of LightShed Partners," reported Business Insider.
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Analysts agree for Comcast/NBC Universal the acquisition would reposition the company boosting its streaming options, adding HBO and HBOMAX to Peacock, and with the studio assets creating the opportunity for more production across all its channels. Additionally, the combination of Universals vast film library with WBDs storied library and franchises could create a media collection that would boost streaming and increase box office potential.
Comcast has been making bold moves recently with the surprise power move of luring Taylor Sheridan, creator of The Landman, The Tulsa King, Yellowstone, and prequels, 1883, 1923, and Special Ops: Lioness, to leave Paramount +, enhancing its own streaming options.
While the bidding has just begun, and other rounds are expected, any of the three will need to have FCC approval. And while speculation is that politics may eventually play a role in the outcome, the ease in which Paramount-Skydance received FCC approval, was not based on anything other than a quid pro quo settlement between CBS and the Trump White House.
Future approvals may be harder to gain as it is possible that regulators would see Paramount-Skydance as building a monopoly, and possibly any anti-trust issues could also be flagged for Netflix, while Comcast, by only bidding for Warner Bros., Discovery, can sidestep any anti-trust issues by not acquiring Warner Bros. global networks.
This first round of bids, which are non-binding, and can be seen as testing the waters, will be reviewed by the Warner Bros., board and will be followed by a second round, in which potential buyers will submit a binding offer.
While Warner Bros Chief David Zaslav continues to explore the option of splitting the company into two distinct and individually traded companies, should the split occur he would remain at the helm of the Warner Bros., Discovery, and current WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, leading the live TV properties.
Hollywood Week: Jimmy Kimmel Returns, Disney’s Decision, Boycott Lifted, Stopping Free Agency
Kimmel in the Hot Seat Again
Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has once again become the focus of President Donald Trump's wrath, as Kimmel, who has had a tumultuous three months, suggested the president was "losing his mind," each time the release of the Epstein files were mentioned.
Trump responded to the trigger by stating, "Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!" Trump wrote late Wednesday night on his Truth Social platform," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Finally, Trump decided to endorse the release of the Epstein files and no longer fight the inevitable, and in Kimmel's case bash those who would call for the release of the documents. The president seemed to be having a bad week and as Kimmel is an easy target, he, once again became the tool the president used to rouse his base, whipping them into frenzied support.
Kimmel, who has responded, trading barbs with the president on social media, stated in his last posting, "Mr. President, I admire your tenacity. If you're watching tonight, which I presume you are, how about this: I'll go when you go, OK? We'll be a team. Let's ride off into the sunset together like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid. And until then, if I may borrow a phrase from you: Quiet, piggy." — JIMMY KIMMEL," The New York Times reported.
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Kimmel, who was suspended in September, over ill-timed and misinterpreted words associated with the alleged shooter in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, ignited a battle over First Amendment freedoms, in which the public at large supported him. A week later, ABC/Disney, announced Kimmel would return to his hosting duties at Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Trump's "Quiet Piggy," remark was aimed at Bloomberg News White House correspondent Catherine Lucey during a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, when she asked the president a follow-up question on the Epstein files. His hate rhetoric, which has been silent for some time, was resurrected. He uses this tactic as deflection and attempts to redirect the narrative. He used the same tactic, during the 2016 presidential election debates with former Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton when her called her "Nasty,"
The Landman Returns
The Landman, the Taylor Sheridan created, and Billy Bob Thornton starrer, returned this week on Paramount Plus, garnering 9.2 million views in three days, the highest streaming numbers in the history of the streamer.
"The show's first season was one of the biggest shows of 2024-25, averaging 15.8 million viewers in Nielsen's 35-day, cross-platform ratings. It ranked in the top 10 of all series in the United States for the season. The opening days of season two likely put the show on a path to remain in the upper echelon," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
The Landman stars Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Ali Lartner, Andy Garcia, Sam Elliot, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chavez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie, James Jordan, and Colm Feore. New episodes are released weekly on Paramount +.
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Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
