How Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters Are Fighting to Save Netflix’s WBD Deal

Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters are mounting a front-running campaign to save their $83 billion Warner Bros. deal. Paramount has until February 23 to submit a final offer, while WBD shareholders are scheduled to vote on March 20 whether to approve the Netflix acquisition.

Competing bids reveal a different future for WBD and media buyers. Under the Netflix deal, WBD will spin off its cable networks, including CNN, TNT, HGTV and Food Network, into a separate public company called Discovery Global, with existing shareholders retaining ownership of that business. Netflix will then acquire WBD’s studios, streaming platforms and key entertainment assets, including Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO Max and DC. Paramount Skydance, by contrast, offered $30 per share to acquire the entire company, valuing WBD at $108.4 billion and pitching its proposal as high-priced and structurally simple.

With the deadline looming, Sarandos and Peters presented their case in Washington and directly to shareholders.

Sarandos lays the case before the law makers

Sarandos, Netflix’s longtime chief content officer before becoming CEO in 2020, has taken on a more public-facing role in Washington. On February 3, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, arguing that Netflix should not be evaluated less as a streaming service competing with rivals such as Disney+ or HBO Max, but as part of an increasingly YouTube-dominated television ecosystem.

“There is no definition of a credible market that doesn’t include YouTube,” Sarandos told lawmakers. He cited Nielsen data showing Netflix accounts for about 19 percent of US broadcast TV viewing, adding that its share would increase by only about 1 percent if HBO Max were folded into the company.

That distinction is central to Netflix’s regulatory strategy. A narrower definition of the streaming market may classify acquisitions as mergers between dominant players, raising antitrust concerns. The broader definition—which includes YouTube and other digital platforms—would position the deal as a growing scale in a much larger market. Netflix is ​​pressing regulators for the latest explanation.

Sarandos paired that argument with a political appeal based on Netflix’s home economics. The company’s products have supported more than 150,000 American jobs over the past decade and contributed more than $225 billion to the American economy, he said, adding that Netflix plans to spend $20 billion on film and television production by 2026, with most of that investment directed to US-based projects.

While Sarandos took the lead publicly, Peters represented the idea of ​​working behind the scenes. Rose through product measurement and engineering at Netflix before serving as COO and chief product officer, Peters consolidates the company’s identity as a global distribution platform. Its chief revenue and strategy officer, Bruce Campbell, emphasized during the Senate hearing that the deal represents a direct integration of Netflix’s distribution capabilities and WBD’s IP assets, rather than the elimination of a direct competitor.

Sarandos also sought to ease regulators’ concerns that Netflix’s purchase of the WBD film studio could weaken the theater business. He promised that Netflix would maintain a “critical theatrical window” for the release of WBD, pointing to a special 45-day run in cinemas as the basis.

Netflix workers rise in Washington as Paramount ramps up shareholder pressure

Netflix has added some Washington muscle. The firm brought in Seth Bloom, the longtime leader of the Senate Judiciary Antitrust committee who founded a strategic consulting firm, to help navigate the regulatory and political system. The hiring signals Netflix expects continued negotiations not only with Justice Department officials but also with lawmakers who are increasingly using hearings and public pressure to shape the outcome of the merger.

The Justice Department’s review remains largely unknown. The program has moved into its early stages, with regulators making extensive contacts with industry participants as part of their process.

Shareholders represent another battleground. Ellison has indicated that he intends to continue his application. Paramount also sharpened its pitch on the certainty of the deal, targeting two risks WBD cited in rejecting its hostile offer: regulatory delays and the cost of terminating the Netflix deal. Paramount proposed quarterly payments to WBD shareholders if a deal is pending after the end of the year and said it would pay the $2.8 billion breakup fee WBD would owe Netflix if it accepted a competing offer.

Activist investors add more pressure. WBD shareholder Ancora Holdings has announced plans to oppose Netflix’s deal in favor of Paramount’s bid, saying shareholders should not accept a structure that forces them to consider execution and regulatory risk when a higher bid is available.

In the meantime, the WBD board remains in line with Netflix. CEO David Zaslav and chairman of the board Samuel Di Piazza Jr. they said the company’s priority is to “increase value and certainty,” while confirming their recommendation for the Netflix transaction.

Two days now tell the result. Paramount Skydance faces a Feb. deadline. 23 to bring its final offering. WBD shareholders will vote on March 20 whether to approve the Netflix deal. Netflix’s leadership is working to ensure that, when those decisions come, its acquisition is viewed less as a controversial gamble and more as an inevitable outcome.