A real-life version of “Game of Thrones”may be unfolding before our eyes, as Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shared that it’s officially entertaining offers. The pressure of “unsolicited” bids from other unnamed media titans forced this shift.

The Warner Bros. Discovery Board issued a statement Oct. 21, saying it has “initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, in light of unsolicited interest the Company has received from multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros.”

Warner Bros. Discovery is itself a product of a 2022 acquisition, pairing the legendary Warner Bros.’s content library and associated movie and television businesses (including prestige TV streamer HBO Max and cable news channel CNN) with Discovery’s popular reality TV offerings.

But the entertainment industry would do well to brace for another seismic deal, considering which industry titans have been pushing offers toward WBD.

A serious offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery appears to have come from David Ellison (son of Larry Ellison of Oracle Corporation [ORCL] fame) and his newly minted Paramount Skydance (PSKY) sometime last month.

Paramount Global and Ellison’s Skydance Media completed an industry-shifting $8.4 billion merger this August. David Ellison isn’t messing around in pursuit of entertainment hegemony, acting with autonomy over a considerable war chest.

Reuters reports that Paramount’s offer of $60 billion, or $24 per share, was rejected Oct. 21. No specifics emerged regarding why, but it could be because Paramount has a serious rival bidder for WBD.

Today’s announcement suggests we could be at the beginning of a public bidding war, following months of behind-the-scenes moves. And if that’s not enough, it’s all happening as subscribers find out subscription prices are heading higher.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav seeks a significant premium for his streaming and studios businesses.

Image source: Dipasupil/Getty Images

Cable giant also circles Warner Bros. Discovery

The streaming wars have entered their endgame, and a cable Goliath may also be interested in Warner Bros, but it isn’t Disney (DIS).

Comcast (CMCSA), owner of NBCUniversal, has entered the chat. The cable and content behemoth is also interested in Warner Bros. Discovery, per reporting by the LA Times. Comcast has its hands in telecom, entertainment, and news, with AT&T, NBCUniversal, and former Murdoch darling Sky Broadcasting under its umbrella.

Crucially, the Paramount and Comcast bids may signal two different futures for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Top 5 Comcast Corporation assets:

  • AT&T Broadband ($47.5 billion, 2002)
  • NBCUniversal ($23.2 billion, 2011-2013)
  • Sky Broadcasting (approx. 40 billion, 2018)
  • DreamWorks Animation ($3.8 billion, 2016)
  • XUMO (estimated $100 million, 2020)
    Source: Investopedia (acquisition price, date)

Paramount reportedly is bidding to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery as a whole, whereas Comcast might have other plans.

Related: Paramount bid chatter about Warner Bros. continues media trend

“Ellison is seeking to swoop in before a potential split of Warner Bros,” report Lucas Shaw and Kelcee Griffis.

Meanwhile, “[Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav] has made it clear he believes he can get a hefty premium for his streaming and studios businesses [HBO, Warner Bros.] once they’re separated from the cable channels [Discovery].”

On the other hand, Comcast is currently restructuring its cable networks, separating MSNBC, USA, and CNBC from its other NBC products like streaming service Peacock and live sports mainstays ABC and NBC Sports.

The process, which will result in founding a new subsidiary company called Versant, is set to be completed later this year.

Depending on whether Comcast has similar plans for WBD, Zaslav might get his wish of a separate streaming and studios division, leaving the remaining parts of WBD to an unknown fate. Any sale or change would send ripples across Tinseltown.

“A sale of all or part of the company would drastically reshape Hollywood,” per Shaw and Griffis.

HBO subscription costs to change

Anyone following Warner Bros. Discovery’s organizational business decisions this year has suffered whiplash.

The iconic Warner Bros. brand encompasses cable networks such as TNT, streaming services like HBO Max, reality-focused cable under Discovery, and their associated production studios.

Earlier this year, WBD announced its intention to separate streaming and studios from cable-oriented assets.

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  • Warner Bros. Discovery has more bad news for HBO Max subscribers

As this went down, HBO Max, which had been rebranded to just “Max” to better mesh with Discovery, said it would again be called HBO Max (not to be confused with HBO, the deceased HBO Go, or any subchannels offered through cable packages). The move was emblematic of the company’s indecision about a potential split.

HBO’s identity tug-of-war will continue, but now with outside interests and dealmaking added to the picture. Oh, and it’s announced a spike in its subscription pricing.

As the ground beneath the entire industry shakes, HBO Max informed consumers about the following price hikes for its three subscription tiers, effective immediately.

HBO Max subscription price increases:

  • HBO Max Basic With Ads (stream on two devices simultaneously)
    Monthly: +$1/month increase, now $10.99
    Annually: +$10/year increase, now $109.99
  • HBO Max Standard (no ads, stream on two devices simultaneously)
    Monthly: +$1.50/month increase, now $18.49
    Annual: +$15/year increase, now $184.99
  • HBO Max Premium (no ads, 4K content, stream on four devices simultaneously)
    Monthly: +$2/month increase, $22.99
    Source: Variety

Time will tell how subscription numbers react. HBO Max has enjoyed recent success with the hit drama Task by Brad Inglesby and with streaming the MLB’s National League Championship Series featuring the Dodgers and Brewers in partnership with fellow WBD cable network TBS.

As Comcast and Paramount circle, hungry for a potential sale, David Zaslav’s vision for a divided Warner Bros. Discovery will be under intense scrutiny. Subscription and viewership numbers for HBO Max, in opposition to those for WBD’s cable networks, will be the focus, shifting the potential deal as they come in.

Related: Disney’s ‘Tron: Ares’ box office bomb isn’t as bad as it seems