Warner Bros. Discovery confirms it has received buyout interest and is considering its options

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery — the home of HBO, CNN and DC Studios — has signaled that it may be open to selling all or parts of its business, just months after announcing plans to split into two companies.

In an announcement Tuesday, the entertainment and media giant said it had initiated a review of “strategic alternatives” in light of “unsolicited interest” it had received from multiple parties, for both the entire company and Warner Bros. specifically.

Warner Bros. Discovery did not specify where that interest was coming from, and a spokesperson said the company couldn't share additional information when reached by The Associated Press. But its review arrives after growing reports of a potential bidding war — including from Skydance-owned Paramount, which closed its own $8 billion merger in early August.

Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Paramount approached Warner Bros. Discovery about a majority-cash offer in late September — but that Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav had rebuffed those first overtures. According to the outlet, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison later considered taking a more aggressive approach, such as going directly to shareholders.

CNBC has also reported that Netflix and Comcast are among other interested parties, citing unnamed sources. Comcast declined to comment Tuesday. Paramount and Netflix did not immediately respond to the AP's requests for statements.

If a sale of all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery arrives, it would mark a considerable shift in the U.S. media landscape that is "already trending towards a concerning level of consolidation,” said Mike Proulx, VP research director at Forrester.

He pointed to the streaming space in particular — noting that, on one hand, a potential transaction could help scale the company's streamers to better compete with other platforms. But on the other hand, consumers could see fewer choices controlled by just a handful of corporate giants.

“When just a few conglomerates, like Skydance, increasingly control the lion’s share of some of the most popular platforms, it raises all sorts of questions around the future of content diversity and expression,” Proulx said over email Tuesday. “Bigger is better might be good for shareholders but will consumers ultimately benefit with better quality content, lower prices, and accessibility?”

Still, he added, much of that will depend on if a sale happens and who ends up buying Warner Bros. Discovery.

Back in June, Warner Bros. Discovery outlined plans to split its cable and streaming offerings — with HBO, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, to become part of a new streaming and studios company; while networks like CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports and digital products such as the Discovery+ streaming service and Bleacher Report would make up a separate cable counterpart.

Warner expected the split to be complete by mid-2026 — and said Tuesday that continuing to advance this separation was still among the options it's considering.

“We took the bold step of preparing to separate the Company into two distinct, leading media companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, because we strongly believed this was the best path forward,” Zaslav said in a statement. Still, he added, “it’s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market."

The company said that there's no definite timeline for its review process — and noted that, beyond the separation that is already underway, “there can be no assurance” that a transaction will emerge.

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, headquarted in New York, were up nearly 11% by market close on Tuesday.

Warner Bros. Discovery was created just three years ago when AT&T spun off WarnerMedia, which was merged with Discovery Communications in a $43 billion deal. An even bigger transaction could attract antitrust scrutiny — but like other recent mega-mergers and proposed transactions, could find success under the Trump administration.

FILE - The Discovery Communications logo atop its headquarters in Silver Spring, Md, July 31, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The last ghoulish gargoyle has been returned to its perch as part of a two-year restoration of a Kentucky cathedral with a facade modeled after Notre Dame in Paris.

The rehab project at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption was sorely needed to repair deteriorated stone, metal and glass that adorns the limestone exterior. The project included 32 recreated gargoyles along with repairs of deteriorated finials, arches and balustrades.

The 125-year-old church, in Covington just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, offers the experience of a European gothic cathedral in the Midwest, said the Very Rev. Ryan Maher, the cathedral’s rector. The cathedral has an “intimate connection to what is really the most popular and most well-known cathedral outside of Rome itself,” he said.

“I think it's very special and very unique,” said Maher, who watched from the sidewalk as the last gargoyle, made of terra cotta, was raised to top of the facade on Monday.

The renovation price tag was nearly $8 million, and most came from donations, Maher said.

Brian Walter, CEO of Trisco Systems, the contractor, said the final gargoyle going in was “a symbol of the accomplishment of all our facade work.”

“That’s a big, monumental occasion for not only people here, but for us. That kind of symbolized the last stone we’re putting in,” Walter said.

Restoration plans grew out of Maher's discovery in 2018 of a large piece of stone that fell from the exterior.

“We realized at that time that we needed to investigate not only the source of that one piece of stone that had fallen, but to take a look at the overall facade of the cathedral,” Maher said.

Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said.

“This is kind of a once or twice in a lifetime project,” Walter said.

The story has been updated to correct that the gargoyles are made of terra cotta, not stone.

Workers are seen beyond an orange cherry picker high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," as the final new terra cotta gargoyle is secured with straps to the left, in Covington, Ky., on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is installed by Cole Burklund, top, and Blake Priest using a cherry picker high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is secured at right after being installed high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is installed by Cole Burklund, in the bright yellow, and Blake Priest using a cherry picker high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is prepared for installation high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)