In this articleWBDNFLXCMCSAPSKYFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTGeneral views of the Warner Bros water tower on the Warner Brothers studio lot on June 24, 2022 in Burbank, California.Aaronp/bauer-griffin | Gc Images | Getty ImagesWith more than a century of some of the most popular film and television content, it’s no wonder why Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix are bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets.Paramount made an initial offer in September to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, leading WBD, which months earlier had announced plans to split itself into two companies, to officially explore a sale process.WBD’s plans mirrored those of Comcast — separating out its cable networks from its movie properties and streaming service, HBO Max. Its coveted library of content includes franchises like DC’s superheroes, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo. It is also the distributor of Legendary’s Dune franchise and Godzilla and King Kong films. The cable networks include CNN, TNT, TBS and TruTV, among others.Warner Bros. Discovery aims to have its sale process wrapped up by mid-to-late December. Earlier this week the company received second-round bids from potential buyers, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be named speaking about internal processes. As of Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery was still considering the offers and it remained unclear if there would be another round of bidding.”All three candidates could potentially be beneficial, which is why Warner Bros. would be such an attractive acquisition,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. “Potential isn’t enough, though. Resources, experience, and the proven ability to execute must be weighed.”Here’s what each suitor could do with WBD assets. Preening PeacockComcast is in the process of spinning out its portfolio of cable networks, which includes CNBC, but will retain broadcast network NBC, streaming service Peacock, the Universal film studio and theme parks. Given its exit from the cable TV business, Comcast isn’t interested in Warner Bros. Discovery’s massive portfolio of networks. Therefore, Comcast’s offer includes a clause that would allow WBD to spin out its cable networks at any point before the proposed acquisition closes, CNBC previously reported. Warner Bros. Discovery intellectual property would serve the most immediate boost to NBCUniversal’s Peacock. The streaming service is far behind its peers in terms of subscriber numbers, with just 41 million customers as of Sept. 30. The platform has bulked up heavily on sports programming but has been lacking on original content.Outside of the superhero fare, WBD’s television content could strengthen NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock with programming like “IT: Welcome to Derry,” “The Pitt,” “The Last of Us” and a pair of shows from the Game of Thrones universe. Adding Warner Bros. Discovery’s IP into the fold would allow Universal to bolster its number of popular franchises, pad its streaming service with television content and expand its theme park business.”For Comcast, it would simply add to the depth of Universal’s current roster which already mixes a healthy balance of IP and more daring, often original, content,” Robbins said. “They check a lot of necessary boxes, without question.”Universal already has a vast collection of franchise IP including Jurassic Park, Fast & Furious and Despicable Me as well as a suite of popular horror films.”Comcast — they’ve got a pretty good film slate,” said Doug Creutz, senior media and entertainment analyst at TD Cowen. “They’re trying to sort of create Disney Prime piece by piece, and I guess having a superhero brand would be another step in that direction. I don’t know that it’s something that they particularly view as a strategic imperative. I think having more IP generally is something that, of course, you always would like.”Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Studios, now under the stewardship of James Gunn and Peter Safran, is set for a slew of theatrical releases as well as upcoming TV series. The pair’s first film, “Superman,” which released in July, tallied more than $600 million at the global box office and received positive reviews from critics. On the slate is a Supergirl film, a Superman sequel, a second Batman film from Matt Reeves and a Clayface feature. On the television front, DC has plans for shows centered on the Green Lantern Corps; the origins of Wonder Woman’s island of Amazons; and some lesser known, but fan favorite comic book characters like Booster Gold.Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery already have some IP in common. The NBCUniversal parent licenses the rights to the Wizarding World for its theme parks. Having the film and television rights to Harry Potter would allow the company more control over production and how that translates into rides, experiences and merchandise.”There are synergistic opportunities that you could turn over if you had authority over film and TV production, along with having the theme parks,” Creutz said.Disney is the blueprint for this strategy. The company’s portfolio of intellectual property has been the bedrock of its theme parks since the first location opened its doors in 1955. Disney controls not only the production of content, but also how it’s curated in its themed experiences.Nimble NetflixThe most surprising bidder of the bunch, Netflix, has similarly been looking only at WBD’s streaming and studio assets.After all, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reiterated during the company’s third-quarter earnings in October that the company has “no interest in owning legacy media networks.”Initially, analysts and industry insiders speculated that Netflix’s interest in Warner Bros. Discovery was simply an effort to hike the price for its competitors who were e …
