Media & Entertainment Deal Values Rose in Q4

While overall media and entertainment deal volume fell from Q4 2024 to Q4 2025, PwC reports that deal value rose 61 percent, driven by intensified competition for premium IP, improving financial conditions and streaming megadeals, including the upcoming Warner Bros. Discovery sale to Netflix.

Media and entertainment dealmaking valuations ranged from under $20 billion to well over $80 billion in Q3 of 2025 before concentrating in the $40 billion to $50 billion range in Q4. This indicates a resettling, the report said, as streamers compete for premium IP and chase scale and sustainability over expansion.

The sale of Warner Bros. Discovery assets to Netflix for $82.7 billion “sets a fresh high-water mark for streaming valuations and redefines what ‘strategic premium’ means for content libraries and global distribution footprints,” PwC’s report said—even more so when considering Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid.

PwC suggested that “companies should begin identifying opportunities for bundling and cross-platform partnerships that can strengthen margins and improve subscriber retention. At the same time, they should consider divesting underperforming linear or regional assets to unlock capital for investments in premium IP or complementary platform extensions such as video games.”

Plus, companies “should also explore creative deal structures—including minority stakes, joint ventures and content-sharing alliances—to secure access to essential assets and technologies without overextending their balance sheets.”

Bart Spiegel, partner of media and entertainment at PwC US, added, “We’ve been expecting streaming consolidation for several years at this point—and now our prediction is finally coming to fruition.”