Warner Bros Discovery has received preliminary bids for the media company from Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix, according to a source familiar with the matter. The bids represent the first step in the possible sale of all or part of the century-old Hollywood studio,

If Warner Bros. Pictures were to be sold to Netflix, the streaming service would likely alter its approach to releasing movies in theaters. Warner Bros. Discovery, which is run by David Zaslav, has put itself up for sale.

Earlier mergers, like Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox, cut the number of films studios released theatrically — a troubling trend for theater owners already coping with consolidation and streaming.

Methinks there’s plenty of smoke to the notion. Deadline reported a visit and pledge of $1 trillion from controversial Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts coincidentally recently (wink wink) visited Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Post.

If Warner Bros. Pictures were to be sold to Netflix, the streaming service would likely alter its approach to releasing movies in theaters. Warner Bros. Discovery, which is run by David Zaslav, has put itself up for sale.

A prominent Republican U.S. representative has weighed in on the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery -- warning that Netflix's potential acquisition of WBD's HBO Max and its entertainment studios "raises antitrust concerns that could result in a harm to consumers.