Netflix’s $72 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery would comprise more than just film and TV titles, as the streaming giant would assume WB’s real estate holdings.
Los Gatos-based Netflix’s pending cash and stock deal would bring about 100 million square feet of entertainment real estate including offices, soundstages and other properties under the streaming giant’s control, CoStar reported.
Warner Bros.’ portfolio includes 97 million square feet of office, industrial and studio properties around the globe, largely in the U.S. and U.K. That includes the 1.3-million-square-foot Warner Brothers Leavesden complex in the U.K. and the 2.6-million-square-foot Burbank Studios complex; the company owns about 3 million square feet of commercial real estate in the Los Angeles region. In Burbank alone, Warner Bros.’ lot spans more than 30 soundstages, large set-building facilities and an iconic Hollywood backlot with its famous WB-branded water tower.
Netflix leases 5.2 million square feet globally, including 2 million square feet in Los Angeles. The firm owns only a few assets such as the 27,000-square-foot historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and the 139,372-square-foot Albuquerque Studios complex in New Mexico. The company has a $1 billion East Coast production hub planned to rise on 292 acres in New Jersey, though that development is years away from opening. When complete, the site is expected to boast 12 soundstages spanning 500,000 square feet.
The deal to purchase Warner Bros. still requires regulatory review and shareholder approval. Warner Bros. Discovery, meanwhile, must finish a planned spinoff of some of its networks, such as CNN, that will not be a part of its agreement with Netflix. President Donald Trump has already indicated the deal might make the joint company’s market share too big, though the president has little power to intervene in the private companies’ decisions.
If the deal closes, Netflix would likely control more production real estate than any entertainment company in Los Angeles. — Chris Malone Méndez
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