Yale media analysts argue Netflix should target NBCUniversal
Comcast’s planned NBCUniversal spinoff has prompted fresh speculation about whether Netflix could pursue a major media acquisition.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Comcast’s plan to separate NBCUniversal Media from its telecommunications business could set up one of Hollywood’s next major deal fights. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute argued in Fortune that Netflix may be better positioned to pursue NBCUniversal than it was to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.
The two analysts wrote that Netflix’s loss in the bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount Skydance may leave it with more financial room for a future NBCUniversal bid. They said Netflix avoided taking on heavy debt for WBD and retains a strong balance sheet that could support another large acquisition.
Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, and Tian, the institute’s director of research, said speculation about Netflix’s interest in NBCUniversal is “more than idle media gossip,” citing Wall Street Journal reporting on NBCUniversal’s possible value as a deal target after the Comcast split.
Why the authors prefer NBCUniversal to WBD
The Yale analysts argued that NBCUniversal would offer Netflix a broader mix of assets than WBD. They said NBCUniversal generated nearly 30% more revenue than WBD last year and has businesses that WBD lacks, including Universal theme parks, which they described as producing $10 billion in revenue.
They also pointed to NBC’s broadcast network, retransmission fees and long-running sports relationships. According to Sonnenfeld and Tian, NBC has anchored its sports programming around the NFL, NBA and Olympics for more than 40 years, while WBD is more exposed to cable networks under revenue pressure.
The analysts said Universal’s film and franchise library would also be valuable to Netflix. They cited Jurassic World, Fast & Furious, Despicable Me, Oppenheimer, Wicked and the Super Mario movies as examples of Universal properties that could strengthen Netflix’s catalog.
Netflix has already moved outside its original streaming model, the authors noted. They said the company had 325 million paying households worldwide as of 2025 and nearly $42.5 billion in annual revenue, and has added live programming through a 10-year, $5 billion WWE deal, NFL holiday games and the MLB Home Run Derby.
Leadership and timing questions
Sonnenfeld and Tian also raised a governance angle, writing that Reed Hastings’ decision to step down as Netflix board chair creates room for a new figure. They suggested NBCUniversal CEO Mike Cavanagh as a possible chair candidate, citing his finance and media experience.
For Comcast, the analysts framed the spinoff as a way to give NBCUniversal the scale options they believe media companies need. They credited Comcast CEO Brian Roberts with building value through acquisitions, including Comcast’s 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal from General Electric.
The authors also reviewed earlier media combinations that joined content and distribution, including Time Warner’s former ownership of HBO, CNN and Time Warner Cable. They said carriage-fee economics helped drive Time Warner’s 2009 cable spinoff, separating programming from distribution.
Regulatory issues remain uncertain, according to Sonnenfeld and Tian. They wrote that the tax-free NBCUniversal spinoff is not expected to close for another year, and that a buyer would face a large tax bill if it tried to acquire the business within two years after that.
Because of that timing, the authors said any future review could fall to different federal regulators than those in office now. Their argument remains prospective: no Netflix-NBCUniversal deal has been announced, and the case they laid out depends on Comcast completing the separation first.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.