David Corenswet as the man of steel in 2025's "Superman."
Emily Bader as stars Poppy opposite Tom Blyth as Alex in Netflix's "People We Meet on Vacation." The film adaptation of the popular Emily Henry novel will go to the streaming service, not to theaters, as is Netflix's usual business model.
Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in the upcoming third season of "House of the Dragon."

That's all, folks.

In a deal worth $72 billion, Netflix announced Friday that it will be purchasing legendary Hollywood studio Warner Bros., home of huge films new and old such as "Superman," "Casablanca" and the "Harry Potter" franchise, as well as HBO, HBO Max and a host of iconic TV shows including "Game of Thrones," "The Sopranos" and "The White Lotus."

The deal comes at the end of a bidding war for Warner Bros. that included such media corporate giants as Paramount and Comcast, and will follow the separation of Warner from its cable TV business, Discovery Global, which includes Discovery Networks, CNN, TNT and others.

In a release Friday morning, Netflix says it will "maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations and build on its strengths," but questions are already swirling about what this deal means for two of the biggest names in Hollywood, and all the shows and films they produce that fans have come to love so dearly. The deal is also not a sure thing − all corporate acquisitions like this are subject to regulatory approval by the federal government.

Here's everything you need to know about the major merger, including how it could affect what you log in to watch on your TV every night.

Will anything change right away because Netflix is buying Warner Bros.?

Immediately, consumers won't see any effects. The deal is not yet approved by regulators (more on that below). Netflix predicts that the transaction will go through in 12 to 18 months.

Will Warner Bros. movies still be released in theaters?

In its announcement of the merger, Netflix said, "Netflix expects to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations and build on its strengths, including theatrical releases for films."

The key word in that sentence, however, is "expects." Netflix's current strategy is release films on its platform either exclusively or with very short theatrical releases, mostly to qualify for Oscar nominations. Warner Bros., on the other hand, is home of box office juggernauts like DC Comics films and "Barbie" that do well with longer theatrical windows (the industry term that refers to how long after a movie is in theaters it takes to reach streaming, video on demand and home video).

Even if Netflix keeps releasing Warner films in theaters, the schedule may not be exactly the same way it is now. In a call with media analysts after the deal was announced, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said, "I think the windows will evolve to be much more consumer friendly, to be able to meet the audience where they are, quicker."

Those words aren't placating worried members of the industry, particularly theater owners, who rely on theatrical releases and long windows to maintain their business and get audiences to the cinema.

"The proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. by Netflix poses an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business," Cinema United, an association of theater owners, president and CEO Michael O'Leary said in a statement Friday. "The negative impact of this acquisition will impact theaters from the biggest circuits to one-screen independents in small towns in the United States and around the world.”

Theater owners are not alone in the industry in fears of the impact of the possible merger. On Dec. 4, a group of anonymous Hollywood film producers sent a letter to Congress with “grave concerns” about the potential deal. “Netflix views any time spent watching a movie in a theater as time not spent on their platform,” the letter said, as reported by the New York Times. “They have no incentive to support theatrical exhibition, and they have every incentive to kill it.”

Will HBO Max and Netflix combine into one streaming service?

The official announcement did not mention any such official plans, but there are intimations that some type of bundling could be part of the strategy in the future.

"By adding the deep film and TV libraries and HBO and HBO Max programming, Netflix members will have even more high-quality titles from which to choose. This also allows Netflix to optimize its plans for consumers, enhancing viewing options and expanding access to content," Netflix said in its official announcement.

Netflix argued in deal talks that a potential combination of its streaming service with HBO Max would benefit consumers by lowering the cost of a bundled offering, Reuters reported on Dec. 2.

But it's also possible consumer prices could go up now that Netflix has a bigger slice of the entertainment pie (not to mention the merger could result in lowball fees paid to the creators of all those films and TV shows). Every merger reduces competition, which is part of what can keep prices low for viewers like you. If the deal goes through, Netflix will own two of the biggest streaming services around, leaving competitors Disney+, Paramount+, Prime Video, Apple TV and Peacock scrambling to keep up. If Netflix suddenly has hundreds more titles on offer, and all its competitors pale in comparison, it could raise its prices.

Will Netflix change the kind of movies and TV shows Warner Bros. makes?

Probably. Warner Bros. is a storied brand name that represents the romance of Old Hollywood, but Netflix isn't buying it to be romantic; it's a business arrangement. And whenever one company gobbles up another, the predator tends to affect the prey.

For guidance here we can look to Amazon's recent purchase of MGM, another new media giant acquiring a slice of old Hollywood. That deal gave Amazon control of franchises like "Rocky" and "James Bond," and one of the first things Amazon did was create a "Bond"-themed reality show for its Prime Video streaming platform, "007: Road to a Million." As part of Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. has already mined its library of content for reality shows and spin-offs, everything from a "Harry Potter" cooking competition to "Superman" dog tie-ins during Animal Planet's puppy bowl, so that strategy could accelerate.

A new regime also means a new person saying "yes" or "no" to pitches. Warner Bros. Discovery recently shelved completed films like "Batgirl" and "Coyote vs. Acme" in cost-saving measures. Netflix's head honchos will have their own opinions about what shows and films should be made, by who and how.

Will the deal for Netflix to buy Warner Bros. even go through?

There is likely to be a lengthy regulatory battle over the merger, which will require the approval of President Trump's administration. That administration has already proven to be vocal about deals like this, as seen by its messaging regarding Skydance's recent acquisition of Paramount. Earlier this year, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's comments about late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel amid Nexstar Media Group's bid to buy TEGNA prompted Nexstar to pull Kimmel from the air.

Paramount was one of the bidders for Warner (and wanted the cable channels being spun off into a separate business, too), and it already took issue with Netflix winning the bakeoff. According to CNBC, Paramount attorneys have delivered a letter to current Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav crying foul, stating, "WBD appears to have abandoned the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process."

Paramount is led by David Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who has close ties to President Trump. The company had been the expected leader in the fight for Warner Bros. Discovery after it kicked off the bidding war with a series of unsolicited offers.

The Netflix deal will also likely face strong antitrust scrutiny in Europe as well as domestically, as the combination would give the expanded company Netflix's 300 million or so subscribers as well as HBO Max's nearly 130 million streaming subscribers.

Why does Netflix want Warner Bros., anyway?

In the current world of Hollywood, more is more. Every major media company is chasing infinite growth, and mega-mergers of huge corporations have become normal in past years.

Amazon bought MGM. Skydance bought Paramount. Disney bought 20th Century Fox. Warner Bros. only recently merged with Discovery Networks in April of 2022 (the new deal breaks those companies apart again).

In addition to purchasing all the new programming Warner Bros. will produce, Netflix has bought its deep library of legacy content, everything from "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory" to the entirety of Looney Tunes cartoons. Old shows make up a huge chunk of viewership on Netflix and other streamers, and the deal gives Netflix a wealth of familiar and popular titles to draw the eyeballs of its subscribers.

And while Netflix already has plenty of old shows on its platform now, such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Gilmore Girls," it must license that content from other studios. If the company owns the content itself, the prospect of streaming hundreds of episodes of a 1990s sitcom becomes that much cheaper for the streamer.

Contributing: Mike Snider

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Netflix is buying Warner Bros. Here's what it means for you

Reporting by Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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