Cannes, MIPCOM: Netflix’s content chief Bela Bajaria has put a price tag on the Warner Bros Discovery chase—one that never reached ‘must-have’ territory. A week after Paramount Skydance closed its US$110bn acquisition of WBD, Bajaria told delegates that walking away was ‘definitely the right decision.’
At a Mip Headliner conversation, Bajaria described Warner Bros as a ‘nice to have at a certain price’ and never a ‘must have at any price.’ She said Netflix is ‘financially disciplined’ and kept its own content plan intact even while the conversations were live.
Why the walk-away matters
The WBD process was one of the broadest media sales in years, and Netflix was among the names in the room before the price escalated. Missing HBO’s premium drama catalogue is not a gap Bajaria is worried about; she framed it as an allocation decision, not a loss.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, that distinction matters. Netflix’s growth story rests on its own pipeline—shows developed across 27 local offices—not on buying a legacy library. If the streamer will not overpay for a storied catalogue at the top of the market, it is unlikely to chase similar assets aggressively.
What stays on Netflix’s slate
Bajaria pushed back on the idea that global investment has weakened the US slate. She listed new titles such as East of Eden, Below, Hunting Wives and Nobody Wants This, plus returning favourites like Emily in Paris.
- Non-English-language titles made up the majority of Netflix original TV releases for the first time in 2025, according to Ampere Analysis.
- Bajaria said the US slate is ‘super strong’ and can compete with any slate.
- Netflix’s discipline means the original pipeline—not M&A—remains the visible spending signal.
The takeaway for buyers
Treat the WBD exit as a public statement of capital allocation. Bajaria’s phrasing—‘nice to have at a certain price’—is a valuation framework: know the ceiling where an asset stops serving the core plan and be willing to walk.
Expect Netflix’s programming investments to continue across global and US originals rather than shift into catalogue consolidation. The next data points to watch are its 2026 slate announcements and local-language commissioning, not another bid for a major studio.
Source: C21media
