Business
Netflix-Warner Bros: Five takeaways from the blockbuster deal
Natalie Sherman,Business reporter,
Danielle Kaye,Business reporterand
Christal Hayes,Los Angeles senior reporter
Warner Brothers DiscoveryIt sounds like a simple merger deal, but it’s got all the ingredients of a Hollywood drama: a rich and powerful suitor, political intrigue, and plenty of cliff-hangers.
Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Brothers Discovery’s storied movie studio and popular HBO streaming networks, is a real-life tale of a conquering giant.
But with regulators and rivals still waiting in the wings, it’s probably just the start of the saga.
As the story unfolds, here are five key things to look out for.
1. Netflix is becoming even more powerful
Netflix has been pulling ahead in Hollywood for years now, ranking as the world’s biggest streaming subscription service and largest producer of new content in California.
But this deal – the biggest in the industry for years – would confirm its position at the head of the pack, handing the company a catalogue with nearly a century’s worth of titles and beefing up its already formidable production capacity.
That’s not to mention its sheer subscriber might, as Netflix prepares to add some of HBO’s 128 million subscribers to its already more than 300 million-strong base.
“Netflix is already the biggest streaming service and now you add HBO Max to that and it becomes arguably untouchable,” said Mike Proulx, vice president at research firm Forrester.
Murray Close/Getty ImagesThe deal will unite beloved historic franchises like Looney Tunes, Harry Potter and Friends and HBO hits like Succession, Sex and the City and Game of Thrones under the same roof as Netflix’s less conventional output, including Stranger Things and KPop Demon Hunters.
The purchase also includes TNT Sports outside the US.
2. It could mean prices go up…. or down
Netflix said it hopes to complete the deal in the next year to 18 months.
But executives are coy about how – or whether – they plan to incorporate Warner Brothers and its flagship HBO brand into the existing Netflix service.
Netflix’s co-chief executive Greg Peters said the HBO name was “very powerful” and would give the firm “a lot of options”, but would not elaborate further.
Netflix could package up films and programmes into different bundles, although analysts say they would be surprised to see the HBO brand disappear altogether.
The impact on prices is also unclear.
Netflix’s dominance could allow it to charge customers more. But if viewers find they are paying for one streaming service rather than two, it could cost them less.
3. Streaming is the future and Hollywood feels cast aside
Warner Bros is one of the studios that defined Hollywood, creating classics such as Casablanca and the The Exorcist.
But this takeover is an illustration of how cinema’s golden age has faded.
The trajectory is clear, Forrester’s Mr Proulx said, the future is “all-streaming”.
“With this deal it is official: legacy media is ending.”
Netflix has promised to keep releasing films in cinemas, a decision that makes some sense as it will be acquiring the DC superhero franchise, films that do very well in movie theatres.
But not everyone believes that will remain a priority for the streamer.
After all, earlier this year Netflix’s co-chief executive officer Ted Sarandos said he believed movie-going was an “outdated concept”. And the consolidation touches a nerve in an industry already wrestling with earlier job cuts, decline in productions and the threat of artificial intelligence.
Titanic director James Cameron was one of many in Hollywood to greet the deal with dismay, warning just before it was announced, that he thought it would prove a “disaster” for the industry.
4. The deal is not yet done
Completion of the deal is far from certain.
First, Warner Brothers Discovery has to complete the spin-off of the parts of its business that it is not selling to Netflix, including CNN, Discovery and Eurosport.
Meanwhile rival suitor Paramount Skydance, which had hoped to buy the entire Warner Brothers Discovery business, may yet try to convince shareholders it can offer a better alternative.
Warner Brothers DiscoveryThe biggest question however, is whether the deal will get approval from competition regulators in the US and Europe – something that could pose a major challenge.
In Washington lawmakers from both parties have already chimed in against the deal, citing worries it will lead to fewer choices for consumers and higher prices.
Mr Sarandos said Netflix, which has to pay Warner Brothers $5.8bn if the deal falls apart, was “highly confident” it would win approval.
It will hinge in part on how regulators define the competitive landscape, said Jonathan Barnett, a professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.
If regulators only look at video streaming, Netflix’s increased share of the market could raise significant red flags. But if regulators adopt a broader definition, one that includes cable and broadcast TV and even YouTube as Netflix’s competitors “the concentration concerns become less and less”, he said.
Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, said usually a merger like this would be a “clear-cut case for a challenge”, typically pushing for better terms for consumers.
This time, she is worried the Trump administration might put pressure on Netflix over questions like diversity and political bias, as has happened in other cases.
5. Donald Trump is another wild card
Looming over the debate is whether President Donald Trump will weigh in.
This administration has promised a lighter regulatory touch when it comes to mergers.
But the president has spoken highly of Paramount Skydance’s owners, the tech billionaire and Republican donor Larry Ellison and his son David who are behind the rival bid for Warner Bros. And Trump has always shown a keen interest in the media and entertainment industry.
There has been no comment from competition regulators in the US, but a senior Trump administration official told CNBC that it views Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros with “heavy scepticism”.
Business
Trump sanctions fail to stop inflow! Some Indian refiners step up Russian crude oil intake; Indian Oil, Nayara boost purchases – The Times of India
State-run Indian Oil Corp and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy have increased their purchases of Russian crude in January. This comes even as India’s overall imports from Russia have declined under US sanctions.Reliance Industries, India’s largest buyer over the past year, along with several other refiners, has not received any supplies this month. This leaves Indian Oil, Nayara and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) as the main importers so far, according to ET.India’s imports of Russian oil averaged 1.18 million barrels per day in the first half of January, down about 30 per cent from both the same period last year and the 2025 average, according to Kpler, a global real-time data and analytics provider. Imports were roughly 3 per cent lower compared with December 2025.US sanctions have significantly narrowed the buyer pool for Russian crude, restricting shipments to just a few Indian refiners. Indian Oil received about 500,000 barrels per day, accounting for nearly 43 per cent of total Russian crude shipped to India. This was Indian Oil’s highest average intake since May 2024 and 64 per cent higher than its 2025 average.Nayara Energy, which has become fully reliant on Russian oil since being sanctioned by the European Union last year, was the second-largest buyer in January. Its imports of approximately 471,000 barrels per day—about 40 per cent of Russian volumes shipped to India this month—were the highest in at least two years and 56 per cent above its 2025 average intake. BPCL received around 200,000 barrels per day, slightly above its average of 185,000 barrels in 2025.Other major refiners, including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd and Reliance Industries, did not receive any Russian cargoes in the first half of January.Reduced demand from some Indian and Chinese buyers has prompted Russian suppliers to increase discounts on crude. Industry executives said discounts on Russia’s flagship Urals crude for delivery to Indian ports now trades at $5-6 per barrel, up from $2 before US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil last October.Indian Oil has increased its intake this month to take advantage of these discounts.Indian refiners began recalibrating their strategy on discounted Russian crude after the US criticised India’s purchases last year and threatened additional tariffs. Some refiners moderated imports after an additional 25 per cent tariff took effect in late August on Indian exports to the US.However, US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil have intensified caution among Indian refiners. Most have stopped receiving cargoes from sanctioned suppliers, with the exception of Rosneft-backed Nayara, according to industry executives. Reliance Industries, which has a term deal with Rosneft, has halted shipments from both Rosneft and other Russian suppliers, Kpler data showed.
US President Donald Trump is set to announce a plan that would let Americans use their retirement savings for down payments on homes.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who hinted at the plan on Friday, offered few details about how withdrawals from US workplace retirement accounts – known as 401(k)s – would work.
“Suppose that you put 10% down on a home, and then you take 10% of the equity of the home and put it in as an asset in your 401(k). Then your 401(k) will grow over time,” Hassett said on Fox Business.
Trump will present a “final plan” at the Davos World Economic Forum next week, he added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the upcoming proposal, including the tax implications. Currently, employees who opt to withdraw money from retirement accounts typically incur fees and taxes.
The anticipated 401(k) plan is the latest in a slew of recent housing affordability proposals as Trump’s administration faces growing public pessimism about its handling of the economy.
Home affordability remains high on the list of Americans’ concerns. Trump has in recent weeks sought to allay voter anxiety ahead of midterm elections later this year, announcing a series of proposals aimed at addressing the high cost of housing.
Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist at Redfin, said using retirement funds for down payments won’t solve the housing affordability crisis. But it could help some people meet their current financial needs, and better position themselves for retirement.
“It doesn’t really drift that far from the purpose of 401(k)s, which is to encourage people to save money for these big expenses that they may not have the discipline to save for,” Fairweather said.
She compared it to a pandemic-era temporary policy that allowed people to access funds from their retirement accounts for down payments with fewer penalties.
Still, she said it would be concerning if people were to start draining their 401(k)s in order to buy a home. That home could eventually lose its value, putting them in a worse financial position.
Last week, Trump said he would move to ban big corporate investors from buying single-family homes, in a bid to make housing more affordable for Americans. That pledge bolstered an idea that has been circulating for years, though some analysts question the extent to which a ban would affect prices.
Jason Richardson, senior research director for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, said that proposal and this latest plan, “sound good but don’t actually address the core affordability and supply problems in housing”.
Only about 55% of Americans have retirement accounts, of which only a subset are 401(k)s, according to government estimates. Low income workers are the least likely to have access to the plans.
“This isn’t a targeted assistance program for people who need help with down payments – it’s giving people who already have substantial retirement savings more purchasing power, which will likely just drive home prices up further,” he wrote in an email.
Trump also recently directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed housing finance firms, to buy $200bn (£149.4bn) worth of mortgage bonds. The move, he claimed, would push down mortgage rates.
An increase in purchases could boost demand for the so-called mortgage-backed securities, which could in turn help lower mortgage rates for borrowers.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell below 6% for the first time in nearly three years following his announcement – “and that’s not with the help of the Fed,” Trump said during a speech in Michigan this week, referring to the Federal Reserve. The US central bank’s benchmark interest rate can indirectly affect mortgage rates.
On Friday, Hassett promoted Trump’s move to order bond purchases.
“We’ve seen a pretty big reaction to the announcement, and I think that actually makes us all feel better, because the truth is that fewer people are buying homes right now than we’ve seen pretty much in my lifetime,” he said.
But housing economists have cautioned that the bond purchases might not push mortgage rates substantially lower in the long run.
“The key now is the timing and cadence of these purchases, which will determine whether the impact is healthy or introduces volatility into the mortgage market,” said Jeff DerGurahian, head economist at loanDepot, a mortgage lender.
A pharmacist displays a box of Wegovy pills at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, Jan. 15, 2026.
George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of Novo Nordisk rose more than 8% on Friday after early prescription data showed an encouraging start to the U.S. launch of the company’s new GLP-1 pill for obesity.
In a Friday note, TD Cowen analysts called it a “solid start” for the first-ever weight loss pill, but said “one data point does not make a trend.” They cautioned that they need to see more data to fully assess early demand for the Wegovy pill, which officially launched Jan. 5 after winning approval in late December.
Still, the initial data is a boost to the Danish drugmaker’s hopes of winning back more share from its chief rival, Eli Lilly, this year in the booming obesity and diabetes drug market. Eli Lilly won the majority market share in early 2025 and is trailing closely behind Novo Nordisk in the pill space, as it prepares for the upcoming launch of its own oral drug for obesity.
In a Friday note, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said around 3,100 prescriptions for the Wegovy pill were filled in the first week of the launch, citing IQVIA data for the week ending Jan. 9. In the first week of the commercial launch of Eli Lilly’s popular obesity injection, Zepbound, around 1,300 prescriptions were filled, and roughly 8,000 were filled in the second week, he noted. That injection won U.S. approval in late 2023.
The TD Cowen analysts cited somewhat different data published by Symphony through Bloomberg.
The analysts said around 4,290 prescriptions were filled for Novo Nordisk’s pill during its first full week of launch, with the majority being for the starting dose of the drug. They added that the data from their source or IQVIA likely don’t include prescriptions through Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer pharmacy or its telehealth partners.
The analysts said that compares with the roughly 1,900 prescriptions filled for Zepbound during its first full week on the market.
Assuming the Symphony data is accurate, the pill “is already outstripping its injectable counterparts at the same stage of their launch,” TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych wrote in the note. A more direct comparison between the pill and the injections can be made based on available data early next week, though the figures may not prove more useful for another two to three quarters, he added.
Nedelcovych said he wants to see the full picture on the direct-to-consumer channel, which holds “significant promise” for the pill’s launch.
Demand could also shift once Eli Lilly’s pill, orforglipron, enters the market in the next few months, he added.
While Novo Nordisk’s drug has a head start, it is a peptide medication with dietary requirements — no food or drink for 30 minutes after taking the pill with water — that may hinder uptake. Eli Lilly’s pill is a small-molecule drug and not a peptide, meaning it does not have those restrictions.
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Trump sanctions fail to stop inflow! Some Indian refiners step up Russian crude oil intake; Indian Oil, Nayara boost purchases – The Times of India
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