Sale of Warner Bros. Discovery heats up as Ellisons weigh ‘DefCon 1’ litigation over selection of Netflix bid

The coverage treats this Warner Bros. Discovery drama like a high-stakes sports bracket: which bid wins, which billionaire sues, who “played” the process best. That framing misses the public-facing reality of modern media consolidation: a few boardrooms can quietly decide what millions watch, and which viewpoints get buried.

If the Ellisons are really at “DefCon 1,” the real question is whether the sale is being run with clean process and fiduciary duty, not just clever lawyering. Conservatives worry about public trust in institutions when corporate governance becomes a closed game, and about cultural gatekeeping when legacy studios fold into streaming giants.

Markets can work, but only when the rule of law is clear and contracts mean what they say. The principle at stake is fairness and transparency, not which logo ends up on the lot.