The contest for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) intensified at the BAFTA Film Awards on February 22, 2026, as Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos publicly pushed Paramount Global to improve its acquisition offer. With the WBD board’s seven-day window for final bids closing today, the future of one of Hollywood’s biggest studios hangs in the balance.

Ted Sarandos stated, “We have a signed deal with Warner Bros., they’re trying to circumvent it. The one thing I would like in this process is: ‘If you wanna try and outbid our deal … just make a better deal. Just put a better deal on the table. Don’t make up stories, don’t [spread] misinformation about market share. Just put a better deal on the table and see if you can win,” per Deadline.

Netflix has already secured a signed agreement to acquire WBD’s streaming and studios division for approximately $82.7 billion, which equates to roughly $27.72 per share plus assumption of WBD’s debt. Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, has made a hostile $108 billion bid to acquire all of the company’s assets, escalating the competition between the two major companies engaged in one of the largest acquisition battles in the industry.

Sarandos criticised Paramount’s approach, accusing the rival studio of spreading misinformation and creating confusion among WBD shareholders. He described Paramount’s proposal as a standard horizontal media merger, which he believed posed risks to consumers and would lead to significant employment reductions if the merger went forward. Netflix presents its proposal as a method for WBD to achieve business development through its planned 2026 production budget of $20 billion and its dedication to preserving Warner Bros. theatrical distribution system.

The company expressed its concern regarding Paramount’s financial situation, which requires the studio to execute $6 billion in immediate budget reductions after the acquisition and subsequently implement $16 billion in additional budget cuts as part of its debt-reduction strategy.

The industry monitors the upcoming final offer deadline to determine whether Paramount will present an improved bid or whether Netflix’s agreement will proceed to establish a new business period for Warner Bros Discovery.