Timeline: A history of Warner Bros Discovery as takeover battle heats up

January 13, 2026 – 9:07 AM

The Warner Bros logo is seen during the annual MIPCOM television programme market in Cannes, France, October 14, 2019. (Reuters/Eric Gaillard/File Photo)

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Paramount Skydance

said it

plans to nominate

directors to Warner Bros Discovery’s

board and has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the media company to disclose details of its $82.7 billion deal with Netflix

The move marks the latest chapter in the race for assets that include Warner Bros’ iconic film and TV studio and its vast library of movies and television shows.

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

Warner Bros Discovery’s board rejects Paramount Skydance’s hostile $108.4 billion bid, saying it failed to provide adequate financing assurances.

December 2025

Paramount Skydance amends its offer to buy Warner Bros Discovery to include a $40.4 billion personal guarantee from Larry Ellison.

January 2026

Warner Bros Discovery rejects Paramount Skydance’s amended hostile bid despite Larry Ellison’s guarantee.

January 2026

Paramount Skydance

files lawsuit

to force Warner Bros Discovery to disclose details of its deal with Netflix and plans to nominate directors to Warner Bros Discovery’s board.

—Reporting by Kritika Lamba, Meghana Khare, Anhata Rooprai, and Arnav Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo, Arun Koyyur and Shinjini Ganguli