넷플릭스 여유…경쟁사는 절박
Netflix doesn't need the Warner Bros. deal, but its rivals might
넷플릭스의 워너브라더스 합병 규제 승인에 대한 자신감이 전략적 확장 가능성을 시사하며, 경쟁사 대비 지배적 시장 지위를 더욱 강화할 것으로 예상됩니다
핵심 요약
넷플릭스(NFLX)는 WBD 결합의 규제 우위를 강조했지만, 웨드부시는 심사 강도는 여전히 높다고 보고 목표주가 115달러를 유지했습니다.
넷플릭스 여유…경쟁사는 절박
넷플릭스(NFLX)는 워너브라더스디스커버리(WBD)와의 결합이 파라마운트 글로벌(PARA)-스카이댄스 거래보다 규제 부담이 낮다고 주장했습니다. 넷플릭스는 자사 거래를 ‘유통+스튜디오’ 성격의 수직결합으로, 파라마운트-스카이댄스는 뉴스·스포츠 중복이 큰 수평결합으로 구분하며 반독점 리스크 차이를 부각했습니다. 다만 웨드부시는 넷플릭스와 WBD도 제작·스트리밍에서 중첩이 있어 심사가 가볍지 않을 것으로 봤고, 그럼에도 넷플릭스 광고 매출이 2026년 30억달러로 최소 2배 성장할 전망이라 외부 거래 필요성은 상대적으로 낮다고 평가했습니다. 웨드부시는 투자의견 아웃퍼폼과 목표주가 115달러를 유지했습니다.
Original Article
Netflix doesn't need the Warner Bros. deal, but its rivals might
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Last updated: 11:15 20 Feb 2026 EST, First published: 11:07 20 Feb 2026 EST
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX, XETRA:NFC) held an analyst briefing this week to make the case that its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery has a cleaner regulatory path than the competing Paramount Skydance bid, deploying its chief global affairs officer and a senior antitrust lawyer from Skadden to push the argument.
The core pitch framed the Netflix combination as a vertical tie-up between a distributor and a studio, the kind of pairing that has historically cleared regulators with less friction.
The Paramount Skydance deal, by contrast, was characterised as a horizontal merger between two major studios with overlapping interests in news and sports, drawing comparisons to the Justice Department's successful block of the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster combination.
Investment bank Wedbush remains sceptical that the argument fully holds, noting that Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery do overlap in content production and streaming, and expecting significant regulatory scrutiny regardless.
The broader point, though, is that Netflix can afford to walk away . Its advertising business is on track to at least double to $3 billion in 2026, and the underlying operation needs no external boost. The same may not be true of Paramount Skydance.
Wedbush kept its outperform rating and $115 price target.