Media & Telecom · November 7, 2026
Three media deals that would make sense now that Skydance is official
Paramount's $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery has closed, and the companies that lost out, or that are being split apart, now have some decisions to make.
Analysis, not news. These are possible deals our editors think would make sense, based on public information. None has been announced, and most may never happen. Not investment advice.
Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on October 6, creating a company called Skydance that owns CBS, TNT, HBO Max and Paramount+. Elsewhere, Comcast is spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky, Fox completed its $22 billion purchase of Roku on November 6, and Legendary Entertainment has reportedly made a takeover offer for Lionsgate. With the biggest studio deal finished, here are three combinations that would make strategic sense next. None of them has been announced and are purely speculative.
1. Netflix → NBCUniversal
Why Netflix could make a play for NBCUniversal
Netflix clearly wanted a legacy studio. It agreed to an all-cash deal worth $27.75 per share for Warner Bros. and HBO's catalogue, then walked away when the price got too high and Paramount won. Comcast announced in June that it will spin NBCUniversal off as a standalone company holding Universal Pictures, Peacock, NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, Sky and the theme parks. Comcast expects the process to take about a year. When the split was announced, CNN reported that analysts immediately wondered whether Netflix or Apple might want the studios and brands. TheStreet noted that a standalone NBCUniversal could appeal to Netflix after the Warner Bros. loss.
What stands in the way: Antitrust is the big obstacle. During the Warner Bros. fight, Paramount argued that a Netflix deal would give it about 43% of global subscription streaming viewers, and that argument would likely come back. Netflix would also be taking on theme parks and a broadcast network, which sit far outside its core streaming business.
CNBC ↗ · SEC EDGAR ↗ · SEC EDGAR ↗ · Axios ↗
2. Comcast → Charter Communications
Why Comcast could make a play for Charter
Comcast spun its cable networks off into Versant in January and is now separating NBCUniversal and Sky. What's left will be mostly a broadband and wireless company. As a pure broadband business, scale becomes its main lever, and the obvious partner with similar scale is Charter, which closed its merger with Cox in August. CNBC’s reporting on what might follow the NBCUniversal split specifically raised the idea of combining the two cable companies.
What stands in the way: Debt is the first obstacle. Charter took on Cox’s debt in the merger and carries more than $100 billion in total, and CNBC reported that a Comcast-Charter combination would create a hefty debt burden. Merging the two biggest U.S. cable operators would also face intense antitrust scrutiny. And Brian Roberts' roughly one-third voting control of Comcast means any deal would have to be on his terms.