In February 2026, Netflix renounced what would have been one of the biggest economic bets in its entire history (72 billion for the studios and the Warner Bros. catalog), in the face of a counteroffer from Paramount that it did not want to match. The episode precisely exposes one of the weaknesses of what remains the main service of streaming in the world: twelve years of own and exclusive content cannot compete against a century of third-party franchises.
The businesses. In December 2025, Netflix announced a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery valued at $72 billion to take over its studios and HBO Max. Two months later Paramount Skydance raised its offer at $31 per sharecompared to the 27.75 that Netflix had agreed upon, and Warner leaned towards this new proposal. Netflix refused to match it. “The transaction we negotiated would have created value for shareholders, but we have always been disciplined, and at the price that required matching the last offer, the deal was no longer financially attractive,” the company said in a statement.
Catalog wanted. Beyond finances, the failed business reveals that Netflix was looking for something that can only be achieved with time (or a lot of money): catalog. Warner, Disney or Universal have accumulated decades of iconic franchises and characters, but Netflix only has a history of twelve years. It is the best explanation for why the platform was willing to make a very high economic proposal. It seems obvious to think that Netflix, now that it has concluded’Stranger Things‘, seeks comparable success: after all, the Duffer series has provided you more than $1 billion in revenue since 2020. and can be credited with signing more than two million subscribers.
Proof: Willy Wonka. A good test that to achieve overwhelming successes it is not enough to walk the checkbook is in the purchase of the Roald Dahl catalog. Netflix paid about 700 million dollars, according to specialized media calculations, for the rights to works such as ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ or ‘Matilda’, but five years later it has not generated any relevant success. In 2026 they will make a new attempt with a reality called ‘Golden Ticket’, in which the participants face tests in a scenario with a chocolate river inspired by Willy Wonka, but we are very far from a launch that equals ‘The Bridgertons’ or a ‘Wednesdays’.
The ‘K-pop Warriors’ accident. Netflix’s latest big hit is perfect proof that, no matter how hard you try, there are things that can’t be bought with money, much less can be thoroughly planned. ‘The K-pop Warriors’ became such an unexpected phenomenon that the platform did not have products merchandising available during the Christmas season. Apparently Netflix approached toy manufacturers more than a year before the premiere, but no one wanted to take the risk of an untested franchise.
But now Netflix is treating ‘K-pop Warriors’ as its next big property: deals with Mattel and Hasbro, themed menus at McDonald’s, a possible concert tour and an animated sequel in development. It’s a real irony: Netflix has been saying for years that franchises are its goal and when one appears, the infrastructure to exploit it was not ready.
The 2026 roadmap. What awaits the platform in the coming months? ‘The Bridgertons’ enters its fourth season, ‘One Piece’ in the second, and series are being prepared such as a new approach to ‘Assassin’s Creed’ with the approval of UbiSofy and a reboot from ‘Little House on the Prairie’. The company has also closed agreements with Sony Pictures to exclusively distribute streaming its next releases (including Spiderverse films, the adaptation of ‘Zelda’ or the Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes) and maintains with Universal the exclusive premiere in streaming from franchises like ‘Jurassic World’. They are alliances that partially compensate for the absence of a more powerful catalog of our own.
The need for franchises. Why series like the true gem of Warner (almost above the DC heroes), ‘harry potter‘, are so necessary for Netflix. According to data from the consulting firm Owl & Co, the engagement Netflix grew just 2% in the second half of 2025. Revenue is expected to increase 13% in 2026, up from 16% a year earlier. And advertising represents only 3% of the total, very residual. Franchises are, in this context, an impetus for growth: they build loyalty and allow exploitation with merchandising and live events. A replica of Hogwarts on the scale of Netflix would, of course, guarantee a turnaround in these figures.
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