Paramount Skydance won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of the Warner Bros., HBO Max streamer and CNN, after a six-month battle between major media companies. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, the architect of the failed bid to take over WBD, was described as a winner and a loser due to his decision to abandon the deal and focus on building his business. David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery, was also a winner due to being able to rebuild the company after a rocky start and take over. The winner of the deal was Paramount Skydanced chief David Ellison, who also had financial backing for the deal. It is unclear if the federal government has completely dropped its initial Section 2 Sherman Act monopoly inquiry into Netflix's size and its ability to squeeze consumers.