The Warner Bros. studios water tower stands next to a U.S. flag in Burbank, California, U.S. Nov. 18, 2025. Mike Blake | Reuters
This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. And the winner is...
Breaking news this morning: Netflix said it reached a deal to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery's film and streaming assets, ending the sale process that has been the talk of tinsel town. Here are the details: Under the deal, Netflix will acquire WBD's film studio and HBO Max streaming service. Discovery will continue with its spin out of its TV network business that houses brands such as TNT and CNN.
Netflix will pay $27.75 per WBD share in the cash-and-stock deal, equating to a total enterprise value of more than $82 billion.
The streaming giant's acquisition is slated to close after the separation with Discovery, which is expected to happen in the third quarter of 2026.
Paramount Skydance Comcast bid for all or some of WBD's assets in the sale process, which officially began in October.
bid for all or some of WBD's assets in the sale process, which officially began in October. CNBC reported yesterday that Paramount attorneys sent a letter to WBD CEO David Zaslav questioning the "fairness and adequacy" of the sale procedures. Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast's planned spinoff of Versant.
2. That's so meta
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., wears a pair of Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
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