The art of the bidding war

When David Ellison began pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery after closing an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance, it seemed as if a deal was imminent. But WBD chief David Zaslav had other plans. He cemented a spinoff structure that would allow the Warners empire to be cleaved off between the studio side (WB Pictures, HBO, HBO Max) and cable networks (CNN, Discovery, TNT, USA), giving him the option of holding two sales instead of one. While presiding over an auction that also included Comcast as a bidder, the Warners board went with Ted Sarandos and Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal (advised by Moelis & Co.) — which factors in a $5.8 billion breakup fee, as Zaslav hailed the deal as one marking “generational change.” Ellison still has a few chess moves to play; his $108 billion hostile bid may grow, for example. Yet Zaslav set up WBD shareholders for a tidy profit regardless of who ends up winning the bid and ended up shining the assets of Warners (in valuation at least) for the next owner. He’s also in line to receive hundreds of millions of dollars, thanks to his stock holdings and options that haven’t vested yet.

Murdoch’s empire lives on with his heir

It was a deal straight out of Succession. Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of legendary media mogul Rupert Murdoch and CEO of Fox Corp., cut a deal with his three siblings who have voting shares in the family trust — James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod — to give him total control over the family’s media empire. This might be the deal of the year where power was more important than money. All of Murdoch’s children had received more than $2 billion from Disney acquiring Fox entertainment assets in 2019, but Fox News and News Corp.’s media assets hold enormous influence, and a sibling battle over their future could have ended with that power splintered or sold elsewhere. With that power on the line, the $3.3 billion cost for Lachlan and Rupert may have been a bargain.

Key dealmaker: Lead Murdoch attorney on deal with siblings, Adam Streisand at Sheppard Mullin.

Landmark $1 billion deal to Sora-ify its IP

How un-American can OpenAI chief Sam Altman be if Disney loves him? That may be one rationale for why the San Francisco tech giant made a blockbuster deal with studio chief Bob Iger. Practically speaking, in the next few months, you’ll be able to play with Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters using Sora on Disney+. You want to crouch at a race starting line next to a character from Cars, as a Disney sample showed? Your moment is here. While there are a lot of unknowns in the three-year pact, there’s one very big known: Disney is paying OpenAI $1 billion for an undisclosed stake in the company. Iger is seeing just how much of the attention economy is being gobbled up by TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc. And rather than fight it, he’s leaning into it. Will this be remembered as a TikTok or a MySpace? The bet feels like the former. Iger’s billion will soon help us find out.

A window into early priorities

Putting aside the Warner Bros. pursuit, David Ellison and the Paramount team launched with a deluge of deals. They cut a first-look pact with Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers and Wicked director Jon M. Chu. They inked a deal with Activision for a Call of Duty film franchise. And perhaps most notably, they signed an eye-watering $1.5 billion deal with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker to keep the show going on Paramount+ while paying $7.7 billion to secure the rights to the UFC, with plans to take the MMA promotion mainstream. It’s all part of a plan to let the town know they are open for business — and they want every A-lister in the building.

Key dealmakers: (South Park deal) attorney Kevin Morris; (Duffers deal) attorney Alex Kohner at Yorn Levine; (UFC deal) Dana White, Mark Shapiro at TKO; (strategy on WB) chief legal officer Makan Delrahim.

Taylor Sheridan gallops away

Taylor Sheridan is packing his Paramount saddle bags and will ride off into the sunset for what he believes to be the greener pastures of NBCUniversal. “Green” here is the operative color: Sheridan’s film and later-coming TV deals at NBCU could be worth up to $1 billion. That’s oil money. Sheridan’s Paramount film deal wraps in the first quarter of 2026, but his TV development contract will keep the cowboy grazing on the Skydance company’s lot until 2029. And though his established thoroughbreds like Yellowstone, Landman, Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown must stay in Paramount’s stables, a familiar ranch hand will be part of Sheridan’s wagon train. Chris McCarthy, one of Paramount Global’s three former “Office of the CEO” occupants, is hitching his horse to Sheridan in a producing pact of his own.

Key dealmakers: Neil Meyer and Emily Downs of Meyer & Downs LLP, Scott Greenberg, LBI (Sheridan team); NBCU’s Donna Langley

Scaling up to combat cord-cutting.

Charter, the second largest cable company in the U.S., agreed to buy Cox, another one of the largest, in a $34.5 million merger set to create a cable behemoth rivaling Comcast, the largest cable company, and giving the company the broadband and mobile scale to compete with tech giants in video and advertising. Charter already covers major cities such as New York City and Los Angeles, but with Cox, would now include other major markets such as Boston, Phoenix and New Orleans for a total footprint across 46 states with 38 million customers. The deal is expected to close in 2026, at which time the company would operate under the name Cox Communications, with Spectrum being the brand name for consumer-facing business. Cox is not a seller, per se, as it is exchanging equity for the new company, and emerging with a 23 percent ownership of shares. The merger may face regulatory hurdles given the size of the combined company, but Winfrey has argued that there is no overlap between the two company’s markets and that the merger would bring needed investment to Cox’s markets. “Our immediate focus post-closing will be on the deployment of our industry leading products and pricing and packaging across the Cox footprint, marrying the best products with the fastest speeds and modern entertainment solutions with the ability for customers to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year,” Winfrey told analysts in May. 

Nexstar and Tegna plan merger

The $6.2 billion deal between Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and Tegna chief Mike Steib would give Nexstar unprecedented reach into local TV markets while seemingly boxing out rival Sinclair, which had made its own play for Tegna. The pact would give Nexstar one or more stations in 44 states and Washington, D.C., and in 41 of the biggest 50 markets. All told, the expanded footprint would cover 80 percent of TV households in the U.S. That’s unprecedented partly because a long-standing FCC rule caps ownership of local stations at 39 percent of the country (that’s where Nexstar is now). The FCC, under chair Brendan Carr, is looking at raising that cap, but Nexstar wants a waiver to speed up its deal, with Sook positioning the merger as a bulwark against big tech and legacy media companies.

Key dealmakers: The teams of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Wiley Rein LLP and Morrison Foerster (Nexstar legal advisers). As Tegna legal advisers, the teams at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Covington & Burling

Video game giant goes private for $55 billion

In what is understood to be the largest ever leveraged buyout, meaning a significant amount is financed via borrowing, a consortium of VIPs teamed in 2025 to seal a deal for the Andrew Wilson-led gaming giant, known for the likes of EA FC (formerly FIFA), Need for Speed, Battlefield and The Sims. The players are the Public Investment Fund, which is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (which would own a 93.4 percent stake in EA, per reports); private equity powerhouse Silver Lake Partners, led by Egon Durban and Greg Mondre, (5.5 percent); and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners (1.1 percent). They offered a healthy 25 percent premium to the Redwood City-based firm’s market value, pushing the price target closer to the priciest gaming takeover in history: Microsoft’s $69 billion deal for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard in 2023.

One key question for the new owners will be how to balance cost-cutting and licensing expenses. S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Neil Barbour highlighted that they are taking on $20 billion in debt to finance the deal, which could require “a little breathing room over the next few years as several pricey sports licensing deals come up for renewal,” he said. EA chief Wilson promised when the deal was unveiled: “We will continue to push the boundaries of entertainment, sports, and technology, unlocking new opportunities.”

The Dodgers owner buys the Lakers

Walter took advantage of a quirk in the Buss family trust to persuade a sale. The trust granted each of the six children equal voting power, but those shares were to be passed down to the surviving siblings upon their deaths. It was a last man standing situation, one that was unfavorable to controlling owner Jeanie Buss. “If I die tomorrow, my kids benefit a little bit, but they don’t get everything I’m entitled to,” Janie Buss, who sided with her sister, Jeanie, and against her brothers in the decadeslong Lakers power struggle, told ESPN. “As we all go down, it’s all going to end up in Joey’s and Jesse’s hands because they’re the youngest.”

A $10 billion valuation, the biggest in sports history, didn’t hurt either. And with last year’s trade for perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic, the Lakers are primed for a decade of championship contention that could see the team’s value surge. Don’t be surprised if Walter, chairman of the L.A. Dodgers and Sparks, adds another ring to his collection in the near future, this time in the NBA.

Key dealmakers: Neil Barr, Michael Davis, Brian Wolfe and Heather Weigel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Walter legal adviser).

What do you do after closing a $25 billion deal to take your publicly traded sports and entertainment powerhouse Endeavor private in a deal with P.E. firm Silver Lake? Start standing up your next banner. hat also notably meant striking out solo. Emanuel, also the CEO of UFC and WWE owner TKO, launched a holding company called MARI with fellow Endeavor exec Mark Shapiro (i.e., Mark + Ari = MARI) that houses such tennis tournaments as the Miami Open, the arts organization Frieze and a majority stake in lifestyle brand and auction house Barrett-Jackson. Whitesell founded an NFL sports management company that he spun off from WME titled WIN Sports Group and Silver Lake-backed investment firm WTSL. After 30 years of Endeavor, “It felt like the right moment to build something new,” says Whitesell, noting that WTSL will back founders “that are advancing the business of media, sports and entertainment.”

The league buys into the media

On the verge of launching a direct-to-consumer streaming service, ESPN and the NFL reached an agreement to provide a whole lot of programming for the service. The Disney-owned sports giant purchased NFL Media, which includes the NFL Network and the RedZone channel, with plans to fold NFL Network programming into the streaming platform. The NFL will continue producing RedZone and license the channel to ESPN, while ESPN platforms will see a net addition of three regularseason games a year to their NFL slate. In exchange, the Roger Goodell-run NFL took a 10 percent stake in the Jimmy Pitaro-led ESPN, marking the first time a sports league has taken an ownership stake in an outside media outlet. The NFL’s stake has raised questions about possible effects on ESPN journalists covering the league, and the deal is still pending regulatory approval.

rhode is the new Casamigos

It seems as if nearly all stars are trying their hand at building a product empire. Yet few are able to successfully scale it — much less sell for $800 million in cash and stock and $200 million in extra earnout based on growth milestones. Yet that’s what Hailey Bieber did in inking a deal with e.l.f. Beauty CEO Tarang Amin. The move brings Rhode (which also bowed a hit iPhone case with a lip gloss holder for $38) into a portfolio of such other e.l.f.-owned skin care brands as Well People and Naturium. Bieber, who will add chief creative officer and head of innovation to her founder title, said at deal close that the sale, “marks an incredible opportunity to elevate and accelerate our ability to reach more of our community with even more innovative products and widen our distribution globally.”

Key dealmakers: Partners Faiza J. Saeed, Cole DuMond, Eric W. Hilfers and David J. Kappos at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (Bieber’s legal advisers).

Spotify and Netflix may usher in ’26 pacts

Netflix doubled down on the idea of podcasts as the new TV shows when the streaming giant announced a deal with Spotify to bring 16 video podcasts to its platform in early 2026. The deal, worked on by Netflix vp content licensing and programming strategy Lauren Smith, also gives Netflix another means to compete against YouTube, the most popular video podcasting platform. (Netflix also just struck similar deals with iHeart and Barstool, suggesting more to come.) For Spotify, the deal brings greater reach for its creators and for its overall video podcasting strategy. Roman Wasenmüller, the head of podcasts at Spotify, says, “At its core, this partnership is about opening more doors for creators and giving fans new ways to discover the shows that resonate with them. Bringing Spotify video podcasts to Netflix introduces these creators to new global audiences and supports our work to build a vibrant, expansive future for video podcasts. We’re energized by what this means for creators and the continued evolution of podcast storytelling.”

City’s Olympic transformation kicks in to higher gear.

It’s a long journey, one that began in 2014 for Casey Wasserman when he received a call from then-Mayor Eric Garcetti on who should lead the city’s bid for the 2028 Games. Fast-forward and Wasserman, the chair of L.A.’s organizing committee, has helped guide a spree of brand, partnership and infrastructure deals to lay the groundwork for the Games and named former Fox exec Peter Rice to oversee content. “It’s always difficult to be the first. Embarking on one of the largest revenue generating campaigns the Olympic and Paralympic Movement has seen to deliver a privately funded Games required boldness and vision to do things differently,” Wasserman says. “Our world-class commercial organization has now made history by generating more than $2B in sponsorship revenue with two years until 2028.”

For sponsors, Wasserman is working with NBCUniversal ad chief Mark Marshall and John Slusher, CEO of USOPP, reeling in Starbucks, Google, Intuit and more. “Planning for an event that is years away is complex,” Marshall notes. “Brands are still shaping their strategies and might not know the tactics they want to employ or messages they are leaning into, but they do know they want to be associated with the biggest marketing event ever to be held on American soil. A U.S.-based Olympics is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with audiences, and it’s been incredibly rewarding leveraging NBCUniversal’s unmatched portfolio to bring our partnerships to life.”

Dish owner inks $19 billion worth of deals

Charlie Ergen has teamed with Elon Musk as the space cowboy moguls look to go where no businessman has gone before. Ergen’s EchoStar (owner of Dish) struck two megadeals in 2025 with SpaceX to sell spectrum licenses (giving the company expanded access to reach U.S. airwaves) for about $11.1 billion in SpaceX stock, plus $8.5 billion in cash. It also marks Musk’s biggest financial bet yet to boost its mobile phone market share. SpaceX’s market value is estimated at about $400 billion, based on the most recent insider share sale, which would put EchoStar’s stake in the company at about 2.8 percent. The deals also benefit EchoStar’s balance sheet, allowing it to launch EchoStar Capital to invest in and grow into “new and complementary arenas” beyond pay TV. During a November conference call with Wall Street, Ergen touted Musk’s company as “the best vendor we’ve worked with in space,” concluding: “SpaceX is going to be the leader for the foreseeable future. Their lead is actually growing. Their biggest competitor is China.” 

MS NOW, CNBC lead Versant’s portfolio

Comcast may be a cable company, but it was (mostly) ready to get out of the cable TV business. The Brian Roberts- and Mike Cavanagh-led media giant turned to a trusted executive, Mark Lazarus, to lead a spinout, now called Versant, which will house the news channels CNBC and MS NOW; the sports and entertainmentfocused brands USA, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel; and Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. Versant won’t officially start trading until January, but Lazarus has kept busy, cutting deals to acquire diginet operator Free TV Networks and the B2B ticketing company INDY Cinema Group. In fact, in Versant’s inaugural pitch to Wall Street, Lazarus pitched the company as a digital play: “This is a company with a mandate to build beyond cable, in fact, beyond media,” he said. So what does that mean exactly? We’ll find out.

Fubo + Hulu/Live TV = contender?

In February 2024, Fubo’s stock was hovering near all-time lows. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox had just announced plans to form Venu, a new streaming venture, by pooling together their sports licensing rights. It was an existential threat for the company. Short of legal action from the Justice Department, the sports streamer’s only play was a longshot lawsuit to block the joint venture on antitrust grounds, which it ultimately won when a court issued an injunction. The media giants later scrapped plans to move forward with Venu, though Fubo didn’t stop there. It leveraged the legal power play into a $220 million settlement and partnership with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV’s business in which the combined company continues to be publicly traded under the Fubo name. The sports streamer has seen its stock nearly double this year. “As the only independent vMVPD, we have always had to fight for our right to compete,” says CEO David Gandler. “Securing fair market deals with programmers and device manufacturers is critical to ensuring smaller companies can thrive and consumers have choice. Fubo is entering its second decade still independently-operated, which we are proud of. Now, with our Disney partners, we can achieve greater scale, which we believe can give consumers more content options, better pricing and unparalleled innovation.”

Are they now acquisition targets or, maybe, buyers?

What started in late 2023 as Lionsgate, led by CEO Jon Feltheimer, combining with a blank check company with an eye to splitting his studio business from premium cable and streaming outfit Starz came to pass in mid-2025. After over eight years under the same roof, the John Wick studio and Outlander cabler are on their own as publicly-traded companies, but in a decidedly disrupted Hollywood landscape. Post-spinoff, newly-solo Starz, led by president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch, and Lionsgate Studios are hoping investors will evaluate each of their business on their own – the very rationale for the spinoff in the first place. Hirsch in an Aug. 2025 analyst call argued there’s a “valuation disconnect” between larger media companies spinning off traditional TV ad-dependent linear networks into standalone public companies and trading at a premium to Starz as it drives hard into the streaming space with less linear baggage. Meanwhile, whether Lionsgate Studios remains a buyer or seller amid the current industry consolidation is occupying minds on Wall Street after the split with Starz opened the way for possibly dealmaking. Already the Dune studio Legendary Entertainment was revealed to be eyeing a deal to acquire Lionsgate Studios, as both companies in the meantime are looking to produce movies together. We’ll see what happens in ’26.

This story appeared in the Dec. 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.