TIMELINE — A history of Warner Bros — from old Hollywood to streaming era

(Updates with completion of deal, adds timeline entries) Oct 6 (Reuters) — Paramount Skydance on Tuesday closed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, forming an entertainment giant named Skydance and putting CEO David Ellison in charge of one of the world's biggest media companies. The deal brings together the studios behind "Mission: Impossible", "Harry Potter" and DC Studios alongside major television and streaming networks such as CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max — forming an expansive entertainment company spanning film, TV and news.

Here is a timeline from the founding of Time Inc and Warner Bros to the company's latest developments: Date Event 1923 Warner Bros was founded by brothers Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner as a film studio in Hollywood. It revolutionized cinema with the introduction of synchronized sound in films 1969 Kinney National Company, a conglomerate that later transitioned into media, buys Warner Bros-Seven Arts and later spins off its non-media businesses 1972 HBO is founded by Charles Dolan with backing from Time.

It is the first US subscription-based cable network, offering uncut, commercial-free movies and live sports, pioneering premium cable television 1990 Time Inc merges with Warner Communications in a $14 billion deal, hailed as a "marriage of content and distribution", creating Time Warner, then the largest media company in the world 1996 Time Warner merges with Turner Broadcasting, gaining Cartoon Network, CNN, TNT and a vast library of classic films 2000 Time Warner merges with AOL, forming AOL Time Warner, the largest merger in history at the time, aiming to marry traditional and digital media 2002 AOL Time Warner merger begins to unravel as AOL's value collapses with the launch of an SEC investigation, prompted by allegations of accounting irregularities and inflated revenue reports at AOL 2003 CEO Steve Case resigns from AOL Time Warner 2004 Time Warner sells Warner Music to a private equity group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr.

6 billion 2009 Time Warner fully spins off Time Warner Cable, which had already been partially separated in 2007, ending its role in cable distribution 2009 Time Warner spins off AOL 2013 Time Warner spins off Time, its magazine division, which includes Time, People, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, marking its formal exit from publishing 2016 AT&T announces acquisition of Time Warner for $85 billion 2018 AT&T completes its acquisition of Time Warner after regulator approval, renaming it WarnerMedia 2021 AT&T announces it will spin off WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery Inc to create a new standalone media company 2022 WarnerMedia and Discovery complete their merger in a $43 billion deal June 9, Warner Bros Discovery announces it will 2025 separate into two companies — one focusing on streaming and studios businesses, while the second will house its cable TV assets October 21, Warner Bros Discovery's board rejects a 2025 Paramount Skydance offer of nearly $60 billion, or $24 per share, a source familiar with the matter exclusively tells Reuters.

7 billion purchase price January 22, Paramount Skydance extends its hostile 2026 tender offer for Warner Bros Discovery to February 20, seeking more time to win investors February 3, US senators grill Netflix co-CEO Ted 2026 Sarandos at a hearing over how the company's acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery would affect competition in the entertainment industry February 5, US President Donald Trump says he will stay 2026 out of the bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery, a reversal from his comments late last year February Paramount Skydance revises 10, 2026 its $30-per-share all-cash offer for Warner Bros, adding a 25-cent-per-share fee for every quarter the transaction does not close beyond December 31, 2026.

80 billion 27, 2026 termination fee that Warner Bros owed Netflix February Warner Bros Discovery enters an agreement 27, 2026 to be acquired by Paramount Skydance at $81 billion in equity value, in a transaction expected to close in the third quarter of 2026 April 23, Warner Bros Discovery shareholders back 2026 proposed merger with Paramount Skydance and cast an advisory vote against executive compensation plans tied to the deal May 21, Wall Street banks led by JPMorgan increase 2026 the size of a loan package for Warner Bros Discovery to over $10 billion as the media company seeks to refinance debt ahead of its planned merger with Paramount June 5, California, New York and other US states 2026 prepare a lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery June 9, Britain's competition regulator formally 2026 starts its review of Paramount Skydance's planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, after ending the first part of its information-gathering process June 12, The US Justice Department's Antitrust 2026 Division clears Paramount Skydance's planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, saying it was unlikely to harm competition or consumers June 17, Chinese regulators clear the planned merger 2026 between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, according to a source familiar with the decision July 8, The Oregon attorney general's office says 2026 Paramount will not close its acquisition of Warner Bros before July 22, pushing the deal's expected closing timeline back by another week.

July 13, California and 11 states sue to block 2026 Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, alleging the deal will lessen competition in film distribution and cable television, harming theaters and pay TV distributors. com)