Picture Credit: Alamy / Netflix
Rumors of Netflix buying up a major Hollywood studio are nothing new, but things are heating up. A new report suggests the streaming giant is seriously looking at Lionsgate to beef up its library, signaling a massive shift in how the company views its future.
According to an exclusive report from Rohan Goswami over at Semafor, Netflix is officially wading further into the M&A waters and has not been detoured from its prior efforts earlier this year. Of course, we’re referring to its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, which they ultimately lost to Paramount, and most recently, reportedly losing out to Fox in a massive $22 billion pursuit of Roku (which was initially set up and incubated within Netflix).
Lionsgate Studios Corp. stock is up nearly 8% on the report.
From Builders to Buyers
For the longest time, Netflix’s mantra was simple: we are builders, not buyers. They preferred to spend their billions creating original IP from scratch rather than buying legacy media companies. But as the Semafor report outlines, Netflix’s pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery exposed a ravenous appetite to get bigger.
Ted Sarandos even admitted on an earnings call that they “really built our M&A muscle” during the WBD pursuit. While they remained fanatically disciplined about not overpaying—which is reportedly why Roku was ultimately too rich for their blood—the shift in mentality is clear. Netflix wants to buy, and Lionsgate Studios is currently one of the top assets in its crosshairs.
Back in early 2021, we explored why a Lionsgate acquisition made perfect sense as legacy studios like Disney and Warner Bros. began clawing back their licensed movies. As we summarized back then, absorbing Lionsgate would give Netflix a substantial, ready-made movie library with heavy-hitting IP, long-term TV licenses to the likes of Mad Men, Weeds, Nashville, Nurse Jackie, among countless others, but wouldn’t be an acquisition big enough to potentially topple momentum within Netflix itself or cause too much internal disruption which was one of the prevailing fears we heard from sources regarding the Warner Bros. acquisition.
Later that same year, The Entertainment Strategy Guy (ESG) joined us to weigh the pros and cons of 9 different Netflix acquisition targets. Rather than pulling exact quotes from those archival pieces, the core takeaway from ESG’s analysis remains incredibly relevant today: compared to the massive price tags of a Sony Pictures or a ViacomCBS (Paramount as it’s now known), Lionsgate was identified as the “pound for pound” most valuable film acquisition on the board. The only major downside we evaluated at the time was the headache of figuring out what to do with Starz’s linear cable network—but given that Starz has since been spun off, that issue is less impactful.
The acquisition would also get Netflix into global theatrical distribution and partially into more experiences, but without doubt, the big attraction is the library.
Netflix and Lionsgate Current Relationship
Netflix and Lionsgate are hardly strangers. The two companies have teamed up on major co-productions like the Brad Pitt film War Machine, and Lionsgate Television is the studio behind massive Netflix hits like Orange is the New Black. Netflix also regularly licenses from its back catalog of movies and series and has even picked up a few of its movies in the first window following their theatrical debuts.
Picture Credit: Netflix
Recently, the relationship has only deepened. Netflix has been scooping up Lionsgate series left and right, including the exclusive licensing of The Hunting Wives (which was later renewed as a Netflix Original for season 2) and the highly anticipated ensemble drama Ripple, which premiered in December 2025.
If Netflix were to outright acquire Lionsgate, it would inherit an absolute goldmine of assets and recent blockbuster IP. We’re talking about taking ownership of mammoth franchises like The Hunger Games, John Wick, Saw, The Twilight Saga (which Netflix is dabbling in already with an animated series), and Now You See Me. That’s not to mention the huge win Lionsgate just had in cinemas with Michael.
Do you think Lionsgate is a good acquisition target for Netflix in 2026? Let us know in the comments.
