Why Comcast lost the Warner Bros. bidding war to Netflix, according to its president

Cavanagh WBD — Comcast's Mike Cavanagh said the company didn't put as much cash into its bid for Warner Bros. as others did.
Comcast; Mario Tama/Getty Images

Comcast wasn't a leading contender for Warner Bros. streaming and studio assets, its president said.
The cable giant opted for a stock-heavy bid that was light on cash, Comcast's Mike Cavanagh said.
Netflix's bid for the Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max was selected, but Paramount is fighting back.

Comcast wasn't a top contender in the Warner Bros. bidding war, company president Mike Cavanagh said.

"We didn't expect that we had a high likelihood of prevailing with a deal that made sense to us," said Cavanagh, Comcast's soon-to-be co-CEO, at a media conference hosted by UBS on Monday morning.

Cavanagh said Comcast's bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and studio assets was "light" on cash compared to bids by Netflix and Paramount Skydance, which wanted to buy the whole company, including its TV networks like CNN and TNT. Netflix's bid was chosen by Warner Bros. Discovery's board.

"We are not interested in stressing the Comcast balance sheet," Cavanagh said in reference to its bid for Warner Bros. Instead, he said Comcast's bid was equity-heavy.

Cavanagh said Comcast decided to "take a look and do the work and see where it leads. You never know." He later added that "we're better for having taken a look."

Cavanagh said he would "respect and understand the decision of the Warner Bros. board to, obviously, prefer the certainty of high levels of cash."

Though Comcast is out, the battle for WBD isn't done. Paramount on Monday launched a hostile bid for WBD.

Some media analysts, like Rich Greenfield of LightShed Partners, thought Comcast needed Warner Bros. assets more than any other suitor.

"We believe it's time for Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts to make a bold move to change the narrative around Comcast," Greenfield wrote. Otherwise, the media analyst said its streaming service Peacock would be "stranded without an obvious merger partner and at a meaningful content deficit."

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