Timeline: Netflix’s $72 billion takeover writes next chapter in Warner Bros’ checkered M&A history

December 9, 2025 – 3:06 PM

Netflix and Warner Bros logos are seen in this illustration taken December 5, 2025. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

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Netflix

has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s

TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion in a deal that could give i

access to one of Hollywood’s most valuable libraries.

Here’s a timeline from the founding of Time Inc and Warner Bros to the company’s latest breakup and potential sale.

Date

Event

1922

1923

Warner Bros was founded by brothers Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner as a film studio in Hollywood. It revolutionized cinema with the introduction of synchronized sound in films.

1969

1972

1990

1996

Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting, gaining Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT and a vast classic film library.

2000

Time Warner merges with AOL, forming AOL Time Warner, the largest merger in history at the time, aiming to merge traditional and digital media.

2002

AOL Time Warner merger begins to unravel as AOL’s value collapses with the launch of an SEC investigation, prompted by allegations of accounting irregularities and inflated revenue reports at AOL.

2003

CEO Steve Case resigns from AOL Time Warner.

2004

Time Warner sells Warner Music to a private equity group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. for $2.6 billion.

2009

Time Warner fully spins off Time Warner Cable, which had already been partially separated in 2007, ending its role in cable distribution.

2009

Time Warner spins off AOL.

2013

2016

AT&T announces acquisition of Time Warner for $85 billion.

2018

AT&T completes its acquisition of Time Warner after regulator’s approval, renaming it WarnerMedia.

2021

AT&T announces it would spin off WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery Inc to create a new standalone media company.

2022

WarnerMedia and Discovery complete their merger in a $43 billion deal.

June 2025

October 2025

November 2025

Warner Bros Discovery receives preliminary buyout bids from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix — who were asked to improve their offers.

December 2025

Warner Bros Discovery receives a second round of bids, including a mostly cash offer from Netflix.

December 2025

Paramount Skydance accuses Warner Bros Discovery of running an unfair sale process that favors Netflix over other bidders, CNBC reports, citing a letter sent by the newly merged media company.

December 2025

Netflix

agrees to buy

—Reporting by Kritika Lamba, Meghana Khare and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona, Sriraj Kalluvila and Shinjini Ganguli