Nearly 15 years ago to the day, Jeff Bewkes, who was the CEO of Warner Bros. then parent company at the time, shrugged off the rise of an upstart DVD-by-mail service called Netflix. “It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?” He said. “I don’t think so.”

The Bewkes of 2010 would be flabbergasted to learn that Netflix just bought Warner Bros. And the world might be next.

Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced yesterday that Netflix agreed to acquire WBD’s streaming and studio businesses for $82.7 billion, beating out Paramount Skydance and Comcast in a heated bidding war. If approved by regulators, the deal would reshape Hollywood and complete Netflix’s transformation into the most dominant force in entertainment.

What Netflix is (and isn’t) buying

Here’s what the streaming giant is getting:

• The Warner Bros. film studio. That means Netflix would own IP like Harry Potter and could add Batman into Bridgerton if it wanted to.
• HBO. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos once said the company aimed “to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.” He meant that literally. The deal would give Netflix control of TV’s most prestigious brand, along with properties like Game of Thrones and The White Lotus.
• HBO Max. It’s unclear if Netflix will absorb HBO Max or keep it as a separate streaming service. Either way, it may have to change its name for the umpteenth time.

And here’s what Netflix isn’t buying:

• WBD’s cable TV channels. New-school Netflix wants nothing to do with WBD’s old-school linear TV business, which includes CNN and TNT. Those networks and others will be spun off as a standalone company in 2026.
• Hollywood’s respect. A-listers are freaking out about what Netflix’s conquest means for the film industry. Which brings us to…

Are theaters dead? Not necessarily, but observers are worried. The historically theater-averse Netflix claims it will continue to release Warner Bros. movies in cinemas, but hasn’t said how long (or how often) it will keep them there.

What now? Netflix expects the deal to close next year, but it will face an uphill battle for regulators’ approval. On top of the obvious antitrust questions, the Trump administration is widely believed to have favored Paramount’s bid, and reportedly views Netflix’s victory with “heavy skepticism.”—AE

⚕️CDC panel votes to end universal hep B shot recommendation for newborns. Following fierce debate, a federal advisory panel voted 8–3 yesterday to scrap the long-standing recommendation that all babies receive hepatitis B shots within 24 hours of birth—a major change that comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who handpicked the panel’s members, seeks to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule. In place of the universal guidance offered since 1991, the panel said families in which the mother does not test positive for the liver disease can opt to wait two months before the first dose. The acting CDC director must still sign off on the decision, and the American Medical Association urged the agency not to, saying the change undermines public confidence in a “proven, lifesaving vaccine.”—AR

SCOTUS to decide if Trump can limit birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the constitutionality of President Trump’s controversial executive order stating that children born in the US to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily are not citizens. The president is appealing a court order striking down the restrictions on birthright citizenship, which has long been considered to apply to essentially all babies born in the US under the 14th Amendment. The high court will hear oral arguments in the case in the spring and is expected to issue its decision by summer.—AR

We now know who’s playing whom in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The drawing for the expanded 48-team group stage of next year’s Mundial, taking place in the US, Canada, and Mexico, happened yesterday in a flashy (albeit cringey) ceremony at the Kennedy Center in DC, during which President Trump was awarded the inaugural FIFA peace prize (devised after he didn’t get the Nobel). The tournament will begin on June 11 with Mexico playing South Africa. The US will face Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of the European playoff—which’ll be either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, or Kosovo. The US team had solid luck with the ball—that is, with the little one used to draw the matchups—since its two known group opponents are teams it beat recently.—SK

Elon Musk’s initial overhaul of Twitter’s account verification system triggered an if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie situation for prank impersonations. Three years, some check mark updates, and one name change later, X got fined $140 million by the EU yesterday for violating the bloc’s transparency rules for online platforms—and US officials are not amused.

This is the first penalty issued under Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which was adopted in 2022, to Big Tech’s dismay. European officials claim X violated the law in three ways, saying:

• X’s blue check mark system—which signifies an X Premium subscription, not identity verification—is “deceptive” puts users at risk of scams, impersonation fraud, and manipulation.
• The company’s ad history database lacks key information, like who paid for an ad. Requests for access are met with “excessive delays.”
• X also prohibits independent researchers from accessing its public data, “undermining research into several systemic risks in the European Union.”

X and Musk haven’t commented publicly yet, but previously said they’d challenge any fine.

White House unhappy. Ahead of the EU’s decision, US Vice President JD Vance posted on X that “The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.” European regulators are also probing Apple, Google, and Meta for DSA violations. In trade talks, the US has urged the EU to walk back its Big Tech regulations.—ML