DisneyFan32
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
I saw live video on Youtube as some guy talks about Disney buys WBD instead Paramount, Netflix, Apple or Amazon.
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Disney's Next Acquisition Speculation / Discussion
- Thread starter Darkprime
- Start date
I saw live video on Youtube as some guy talks about Disney buys WBD instead Paramount, Netflix, Apple or Amazon.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
More wishful thinking, not gonna happen. Disney is not going to get into the mix of a bidding war between the tech titans.
Paramount Skydance is seen as the top contender and there is already reports of them putting out feelers to various groups to make it known they don't plan to split WB once acquired.
WolverineInMichigan
Member
Disney is not entering this game. As large as Disney is--- this is wayyyy above Bob's pay grade. He cannot even buy a ticket to watch this fight, much less participate in it. Whether it's Apple's/Oracle's or Amazon's Money... all three of them could buy Disney outright and dismiss Iger in a heartbeat. Iger will simply cower in the corner and hope they don't look his way, lest they swallow Disney whole.
My bet is Ellison wins.... He is simply more experienced in company aquisition merger...and without going too much into politics; his connections will help with the regulators.
My bet is Ellison wins.... He is simply more experienced in company aquisition merger...and without going too much into politics; his connections will help with the regulators.
FYI..
| Company / Entity | Year | Deal Type / Structure | Disney’s Stake / Description | Value / Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FuboTV | 2025 | Acquisition/Merger | Disney acquired 70% and merged it with Hulu Live TV | Not disclosed |
| Miral (Disneyland Abu Dhabi, UAE) | 2025 | Licensing | Royalty/licensing, creative control, joint development, not ownership | Ongoing royalties |
| Reliance/Viacom18/JioCinema (India) | 2024 | Merger | Combined Star India, Disney+ Hotstar into Viacom18/JioCinema | $8.5 billion |
| Epic Games (Fortnite) | 2024 | Minority Investment | Estimated 9% stake, strategic partnership for Disney IP in Fortnite | $1.5 billion |
| Hulu (Comcast buyout) | 2023 | Full Acquisition | Final 33%, now 100% owned by Disney | $8.6 billion |
| BAMTech (final tranche) | 2022 | Full Acquisition | Final 15% to reach 100% ownership, streaming tech backbone | $900 million |
| Shanghai Disneyland (China) | 2016, ongoing | Joint Venture/Licensing | Disney owns 43%, Chinese state 57%; Disney receives royalties and majority management control; creative oversight | $5.5+ billion initial |
| Hong Kong Disneyland | 2005, ongoing | Joint Venture/Licensing | Disney owns 47%, Hong Kong gov’t 53%; Disney collects royalties and shares creative/ops control | $3.5+ billion expansion |
| Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea (Japan) | 1983, ongoing | Licensing Only | Disney has 0% ownership; Oriental Land Company owns/operates; Disney receives licensing and creative royalties | OLC invests, Disney royalties |
| Major Chinese consumer licensing | 2023-2025 | Licensing/Distribution | Extensive e-commerce and brand licensing partnerships (Miniso, Pop Mart, etc.) | $61–62 billion in retail sales |
| Major UAE licensing (products/digital) | 2023–25 | Licensing/Distribution | Integrated licensing with regional retail, digital content | Revenue growth |
| Disneyland Paris (France) | 2017 | Full Acquisition | Disney bought out remaining shares; now 100% owned by Disney | €2 billion buyout |
| National Geographic Partners | 2019 | Full Ownership via Fox | Gained full control as part of Fox acquisition | Included in Fox deal |
| 21st Century Fox | 2019 | Acquisition | Major studios, TV, IP; full creative control | $71.3 billion |
| TrueX (via Fox) | 2019 | Acquisition as asset in Fox deal | Digital ad-tech platform | Part of Fox deal |
| Vice Media (legacy investment/liquidity) | 2019 | Exit of historical holding | Previously held stake; exited in 2019, included for breadth of partnerships | Value not public |
| BAMTech (earlier phases) | 2017-2018 | Majority Investment | Investment to reach majority then full ownership of streaming tech company | $2.6+ billion |
| Disney Cruise Line (Asia-Pacific) | 2025 | Licensing/Expansion Partnership | Singapore homeport, regional cruise branding and presence | New homeport/expansion |
| Disney+ licensing (China/Asia) | 2023–25 | Digital Licensing/Platform Partnerships | Partnerships for local streaming, product, and regional digital expansion | Not disclosed |
| Disney+ regional partnerships (UAE/South Asia) | 2025 | Licensing/Platform Partnership | Collaboration for streaming, distribution, and content delivery | Subscriber/revenue growth |
| Disney/Shanghai Shendi Group (expansion) | 2023–25 | Follow-on JV/Licensing for expansion | Disney and JV continuing with accelerated park and resort investments for greater reach and royalties | Additional billions |
brodie999
Active Member
I'm not so sure about that. They said the exact same thing when Disney wasn't rumoured to buy Fox. But now here we are. I feel like Disney could enter the bidding war any day now.
Also from Perplexity, because I was curious...
The top ten pay TV companies in the U.S. as of 2025, with Disney's acquisition of Fubo making it the sixth largest pay TV company, are:
- Charter Communications (Spectrum) - approx. 12.1 million subscribers
- Comcast (Xfinity) - approx. 11.7 million subscribers
- TPG Inc. (DirecTV) - approx. 11 million subscribers
- Alphabet Inc. (YouTube TV) - approx. 9.4 million subscribers
- EchoStar (Dish Network) - approx. 5.3 million subscribers
- Disney (Hulu + Live TV combined with Fubo) - nearly 6 million subscribers combined (Disney has about 4.4 million Hulu + Live TV subscribers, and Fubo had about 1.47 million before the merger)
- Communications (Contour) - approx. 3.05 million subscribers
- Verizon (Fios) - approx. 2.62 million subscribers
- EchoStar (Sling TV) - approx. 1.78 million subscribers
- Altice USA (Optimum) - approx. 1.79 million subscribers
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Of the potential suitors -
Netflix has a market cap of $466.3B as of today.
Apple has a market cap of $4.002T as of today.
The Ellison family who now runs Paramount Skydance is worth $350B, plus more through private equity firms (some rumors I've seen have them listed as having access to another $500B putting them close to $900B in total available capital).
Disney has a market cap of $198.2B as of today. All of those others could literally buy Disney today if they wanted.
Disney doesn't have the same available capital as others, so they aren't entering this bidding war. Sorry.
Haymarket
Well-Known Member
Disney owns 73% of National Geographic Partners. The National Geographic Society owns the rest. It's a joint venture.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
I finally watched this, and this guy actually does not think that Disney is buying WB either. His opinion is the same as others, Paramount Skydance buys WB.
His points is that Disney still haven't utilized 21st Century properly yet, and hasn't recovered from its purchase. And thinks its a bad idea for Marvel and DC being under the same owner.
coffeefan
Well-Known Member
Netflix is exploring a bid for WB.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
My only comment on this would be does Netflix decide to exit the theatrical space in such a merger. That would be a very quick acceleration to theatrical being phased out in the next 5 maybe 10 years.
coffeefan
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it would be bad for movie theaters, unless Netflix alters its model. Apple may be the least bad option IMO.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Paramount would be better fit as they would at least keep theatrical going for at least another few years.
Apple isn't into the theatrical model either, just like Netflix.
coffeefan
Well-Known Member
Apple has shown more support than Netflix, and a recent example is F1.
Apple to Spend $1 Billion a Year on Films to Break Into Cinemas
Apple Inc. plans to spend $1 billion a year to produce movies that will be released in theaters, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, part of an ambitious effort to raise its profile in Hollywood and lure subscribers to its streaming service.
www.bloomberg.com
Paramount-Skydance would be the worst option. Aside from eliminating a major studio, the situation with CBS and current events is very telling.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
That is limited examples, all of which except F1 failed, that is like Netflix doing the deal with IMAX to release a few like K-Pop into theaters. That isn't really supporting theatrical, that is just IMAX leaning in this case into to get some of that sweet sweet streaming money from Netflix, or in the case of Apple mostly for award plays. Theatrical goes against what both Netflix and Apple are doing with their platforms. Plus Apple and Netflix already have their own "studios" so combining either with WB would also still be eliminating a major studio.Apple has shown more support than Netflix, and a recent example is F1.
Apple to Spend $1 Billion a Year on Films to Break Into Cinemas
Apple Inc. plans to spend $1 billion a year to produce movies that will be released in theaters, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, part of an ambitious effort to raise its profile in Hollywood and lure subscribers to its streaming service.
Paramount-Skydance would be the worst option. Aside from eliminating a major studio, the situation with CBS and current events is very telling.
Paramount is at least still all-in on theatrical for now. And its not like a combined Paramount/WB would be any different than Paramount combining with Skydance, or Dreamworks before it, or Viacom before that, etc.
Consolidation is going to happen, that is just the nature of things. But some are better for the industry than others. And Netflix or Apple are worse for the industry if you value theatrical.
Netflix wants the studios to pump out even more content. They're all on board with selling off the tv channels.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Pump out more content to bolster their subs and prevent as much churn as possible.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Eh, its not as bad as you think.There are no good options. That's why I said Apple would be the least bad. But relative to Netflix, Apple has a better history at theatrical support.
However, I value independent press and artistic freedom more than I value theatrical support, hence Paramount-Skydance being a hard pass for me.
Paramount To Buy The Free Press; Founder Bari Weiss To Become Editor In Chief At CBS News
Paramount made official its purchase of The Free Press, the right-of-center commentary site, with Bari Weiss set as editor in chief at CBS News.deadline.com
I've familiar with the Ellison's, for reasons I won't get into here. They aren't as anti-independent and right leaning as what you might think. I suspect that CBS will be just fine, hopefully going back to its roots like back when Cronkite was on the air. I won't say more, but things will be ok in my opinion.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Anyone still holding out hope that Disney will make a last minute play for WB and buy it, well Disney commented today and said no.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
"One thing that is not in the company’s plans for 2026 is any M&A (sorry David Zaslav!). On the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston dismissed the potential of the company pursuing a deal for Warner Bros. Discovery (or any other major deal for that matter).
“Obviously, we don’t comment on M&A specifically, that said, with what’s happening in the industry right now, Bob and the team really built the IP portfolio that we have over the last decade, whether it was the Fox acquisition or Lucasfilm or Pixar,” Johnston said. “So we actually feel like we’ve got a great portfolio, and we don’t need to do anything from that perspective. I think we’ll let this play out in terms of other competitors. We’ll see how the various moves play out, but we like the hand that we have right now, so I wouldn’t expect us to participate in making any significant moves.”
deadline.com
"Asked during a CBNC interview earlier about industry M&A including a pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, led by Paramount, he’d said, in a similar vein, “What they’re talking about doing, it’s really what we did 10 years ago, whether it was the Fox deal or the Pixar deal or the Lucasfilm deal. Bringing more in house is something that we did a good long time ago. As a result of that, we don’t really need to participate in these things.” "
Disney Streaming Subscribers Surge As Execs Hint At AI Plans and Rule Out a Warner Bros. Bid
Both Disney+ and Hulu saw big subscriber gains (the full impact of the Jimmy Kimmel backlash wasn't felt in this quarter) as Bob Iger outlines a user-generated content add-on in streaming and execs dismiss M&A plans.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
"One thing that is not in the company’s plans for 2026 is any M&A (sorry David Zaslav!). On the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston dismissed the potential of the company pursuing a deal for Warner Bros. Discovery (or any other major deal for that matter).
“Obviously, we don’t comment on M&A specifically, that said, with what’s happening in the industry right now, Bob and the team really built the IP portfolio that we have over the last decade, whether it was the Fox acquisition or Lucasfilm or Pixar,” Johnston said. “So we actually feel like we’ve got a great portfolio, and we don’t need to do anything from that perspective. I think we’ll let this play out in terms of other competitors. We’ll see how the various moves play out, but we like the hand that we have right now, so I wouldn’t expect us to participate in making any significant moves.”
CFO Says Disney Has No M&A Plans, Pokes Rivals For Splitting Assets — “What You Do When You Don’t Have A Great Business”
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said the company plans to sit out the latest wave of M&A and poked rivals who plan to split their businesses.
deadline.com
"Asked during a CBNC interview earlier about industry M&A including a pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, led by Paramount, he’d said, in a similar vein, “What they’re talking about doing, it’s really what we did 10 years ago, whether it was the Fox deal or the Pixar deal or the Lucasfilm deal. Bringing more in house is something that we did a good long time ago. As a result of that, we don’t really need to participate in these things.” "
DisneyFan32
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Well yikes..um..most likely it's between Paramount or Comcast to buy WB.Anyone still holding out hope that Disney will make a last minute play for WB and buy it, well Disney commented today and said no.
Disney Streaming Subscribers Surge As Execs Hint At AI Plans and Rule Out a Warner Bros. Bid
Both Disney+ and Hulu saw big subscriber gains (the full impact of the Jimmy Kimmel backlash wasn't felt in this quarter) as Bob Iger outlines a user-generated content add-on in streaming and execs dismiss M&A plans.
"One thing that is not in the company’s plans for 2026 is any M&A (sorry David Zaslav!). On the call, Disney CFO Hugh Johnston dismissed the potential of the company pursuing a deal for Warner Bros. Discovery (or any other major deal for that matter).
“Obviously, we don’t comment on M&A specifically, that said, with what’s happening in the industry right now, Bob and the team really built the IP portfolio that we have over the last decade, whether it was the Fox acquisition or Lucasfilm or Pixar,” Johnston said. “So we actually feel like we’ve got a great portfolio, and we don’t need to do anything from that perspective. I think we’ll let this play out in terms of other competitors. We’ll see how the various moves play out, but we like the hand that we have right now, so I wouldn’t expect us to participate in making any significant moves.”
CFO Says Disney Has No M&A Plans, Pokes Rivals For Splitting Assets — “What You Do When You Don’t Have A Great Business”
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said the company plans to sit out the latest wave of M&A and poked rivals who plan to split their businesses.
"Asked during a CBNC interview earlier about industry M&A including a pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, led by Paramount, he’d said, in a similar vein, “What they’re talking about doing, it’s really what we did 10 years ago, whether it was the Fox deal or the Pixar deal or the Lucasfilm deal. Bringing more in house is something that we did a good long time ago. As a result of that, we don’t really need to participate in these things.” "