Netflix has agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in a landmark $72 billion deal, uniting two of Hollywood’s most influential entertainment companies. The agreement, announced early Friday, will give Netflix control of Warner Bros.’ film and television assets, including HBO Max and DC Studios, alongside its own dominant streaming platform and original hits such as Stranger Things, Kpop Demon Hunters and Squid Game.

The transaction, structured as a cash-and-stock deal valued at $27.75 per Warner share, places Warner’s enterprise value at approximately $82.7 billion. The deal is expected to close in late 2026, following Warner’s planned spin-off of its Discovery Global cable operations into a separate publicly traded company.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the merger will combine Warner’s legendary catalog — from classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to franchises such as Harry Potter and Friends — with Netflix’s culture-defining originals. “Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling,” Sarandos said.

Sarandos’ co-CEO Greg Peters highlighted the deal’s potential to broaden Netflix’s global reach and “accelerate our business for decades to come,” while also providing members with more choices, “attracting more fans to our best-in-class streaming service, strengthening the entire entertainment industry and creating more value for shareholders.”

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav called the partnership a union of “two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world,” add, “By coming together with Netflix, we will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come.”

Warner Bros. shares climbed nearly 3% in premarket trading, while Netflix and Paramount each slipped more than 2%.

Despite the optimism from executives, the acquisition has sparked industry concerns. Cinema United warned the deal poses “an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business,” while the Directors Guild flagged “significant concerns” about its impact on creative and competitive dynamics. If it passes regulatory muster, the merger would transform the entertainment industry, creating a powerhouse with unparalleled production capabilities, a vast library of intellectual property, and dominant streaming reach — paving the way for a new era of media consolidation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Backstreet Boys are going back to the start. The boy-turned-man band announced the dates for a six-night 2026 residency in Germany on Friday morning (Dec. 5), slated to kick off on Sept. 25. The gigs at the Merkur Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf, dubbed Into the Millennium — Homecoming: Live in Germany, will be the band’s only European gigs next year.

They will also mark a return to the country where the group scored their first-ever platinum record 30 years ago when — before U.S. audiences really caught wind of them — German fans helped make “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” a top 10 hit in that country.

“When we talk about this being a homecoming, it’s because Germany is where everything clicked for us,” the group’s Brian Littrell said in a statement. “It’s where our dream stopped being hypothetical and became something real. Coming back for these shows feels full circle.”

In a promo video for the run, the group — Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson and Littrell — make their way to an airplane hangar, where they encounter some of their vintage late 1995 stage gear and crates of dusty Millennium CDs. Gathered for a photo shoot in their all-white outfits, things go sideways when the backdrop falls down, prompting Littrell to ask, “Guys, are we doing this again?,” as Richardson announces “our ride’s here fellas,” while their BSB-branded private jet idles in the background.

The release notes that long before the group became one of the best-selling boy bands in music history, Europe, specifically Germany, was where they initially took off. “They recorded some of their biggest hits overseas and spent their first years performing across Europe, building a loyal audience show by show,” according to the statement. “German fans were among the very first to pack venues, call radio stations, and wait outside hotels, giving the group an early glimpse of what their career would become.”

The shows will take place on Sept. 25, 26, 27, 29, 30 and Oct. 2, with sign-ups available here now for access to an artist pre-sale beginning on Dec. 12 at 12 p.m. CET; a general on-sale will kick off on Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. CET.

The German Millennium shows will kick off more than a year after the band wrapped their run of 20 gigs at Las Vegas’ Sphere in August. The release promised that the band will bring “an unforgettable, stadium-sized celebration of the Backstreet Boys’ legacy. The group will bring their iconic, five-time GRAMMY-nominated Millennium album to life on stage, featuring beloved classics like ‘I Want It That Way,’ and ‘Larger Than Life’ along with a powerful lineup of their greatest hits.”

Check out the promo video for the German shows below.

CMAT has extended her long-term global record deal with longtime partner AWAL, the label has revealed exclusively to Billboard U.K. The Irish country-pop songwriter has released three albums on the Sony-owned firm, having signed with it four years ago.

The 29-year-old artist, born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, put out her debut album If My Wife New I’d Be Dead in 2022 and followed up with the Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize-nominated Crazymad, For Me. Both records topped the charts in her homeland.

It was the release of third LP Euro-Country earlier this year (Aug. 29) that pushed CMAT’s stature into a new stratosphere entirely, peaking at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart as well as reaching the summit on the Irish Albums Chart. The album was supported with show-stealing appearances at major U.K. and Ireland festivals including Glastonbury and All Together Show, alongside a run of stadium tour support slots for Sam Fender.

Barry O’Donoghue, manager of CMAT, said in a statement: “After a whirlwind three albums in just over three years, and a very memorable 2025, we are excited and indeed delighted to extend our arrangement with the top tier team at AWAL.”

Lonny Olinick (AWAL CEO) added: “CMAT is one of those artists that you know matters from the moment you meet her. We have been so fortunate to have a front row seat to her masterful artistry over these last three albums and know the world stage is set for her. Our entire team is beyond excited to continue partnering with CMAT and Barry on these next incredible chapters.”

Euro-Country includes standout tracks such as “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station” and “Take A Sexy Picture Of Me.” The latter spawned a TikTok dance trend dubbed the “Woke Macarena” – thanks to simple choreography – which then translated into real-world success, with the song marking CMAT’s first placement on the Official U.K. Singles Chart (peaking at No. 42).

The album was greeted with near-unanimous five-star reviews from the British press, and also landed CMAT her second consecutive Mercury Prize nomination. Matt Riley (U.K. president, AWAL) noted: “CMAT is a unique and world class artist and it’s been immensely rewarding for everyone at AWAL to be a part of the emergence of a superstar.”

CMAT is currently on a sold-out headline tour across the U.K. and Ireland, which will conclude on Dec. 5 with a date at Dublin’s 13,000-capacity 3Arena. Next summer, she will top the bill at London’s Lido Festival, with support from the likes of Father John Misty and Sharon Van Etten.

AWAL’s roster also includes Laufey, Djo, Little Simz and Jungle. In September, the full-service recorded music company announced the launch of a new division, AWAL Middle East, which will be headquartered in Dubai in partnership with Sony Middle East.

The Beatles’ archival Anthology series of albums is back Billboard charts, 30 years after the project launched in 1995 with Anthology 1. The new album, Anthology 4, debuts in the top 10 on five Billboard charts, all dated Dec. 6: Top Album Sales (No. 9), Top Current Album Sales (No. 9), Top Rock & Alternative Albums (No. 7), Top Rock Albums (No. 6) and Indie Store Album Sales (No. 3).

The 36-track Anthology 4 collection features 13 previously unreleased tracks from The Beatles’ vault. The rest of the cuts on the album were available on previous reissues.

Anthology 4 was issued on vinyl, CD, as a digital download and via streaming services, and launches with nearly 17,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Nov. 27, according to Luminate. Of that sum, traditional album sales (purchases of physical copies and digital downloads of the album) numbered 13,000.

Anthology 4 also arrives at No. 48 on the overall Billboard 200, as does the boxed set The Anthology Collection. The latter compiles all four Anthology albums into one massive release, available on CD, vinyl, as a download and via streaming services.

The new Anthology album releases were accompanied by a 25th-anniversary reissue of the book The Beatles Anthology, and the streaming debut of The Beatles Anthology documentary series on Disney+, beginning on Nov. 26. The series, which premiered in 1995 on ABC-TV, initially aired as an eight-part documentary. For the new 2025 version, it was expanded to nine parts.

The first three volumes of the Anthology album series were released in 1995 and 1996, and all three topped the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales charts.

Anthology 4 is among a crowded top 10 on the latest Top Album Sales chart, where Stray Kids’ DO IT debuts at No. 1, while the Wicked: For Good soundtrack enters at No. 2, and Aerosmith and YUNGBLUD’s One More Time starts at No. 3.

Longtime Nashville music industry exec Jody Williams has taken on management duties for country singer/songwriter Vince Gill.

Williams, founder/CEO of independent music industry publishing company Jody Williams Songs (JWS), has worked with Gill for four years as his publisher and will now manage him at his newly established management entity, Little Guitar Management, overseeing all aspects of the legendary singer’s career. Williams will continue as CEO of JWS in addition to managing Gill.

Larry Fitzgerald, Gill’s longtime manager for more than four decades, will remain as a consultant to Williams. Fitzgerald’s longtime colleague, Jennifer Templeton, will stay on as Gill’s day-to-day manager.

Nina Jenkins Fisher will continue to oversee all day-to-day aspects of JWS, which is a joint venture with Warner Chappell Music.

“Taking on this new role with Vince feels like a calling and a natural evolution,” Williams said in a statement. “My motivation is to ensure that Vince’s career aspirations for the near future are realized and his long term legacy includes milestones he has not yet reached. Nobody does Vince Gill like Vince Gill. His unique musical aesthetic has served him well his whole career. I’m honored to work alongside Vince, and very grateful for Larry and Jennifer’s support.”

“Throughout my career I’ve put great care into putting teams together around our artists, yet it was only recently that I used those skills one final time for my buddy Vince,” Fitzgerald says. “I’ve always admired Jody’s vision, organizational, and decision-making skills, and he has an ability to engage with talent in meaningful ways. Already a member of Vince’s team as his publisher, we know his passion is unparalleled.”

Fitzgerald teamed with Mark Hartley in 1977 to launch Fitzgerald Hartley Management, and over the next 42 years, he managed the careers of artists including Gill, Glenn Frey, Toto, Rufus, Patty Loveless and Brad Paisley. In 2019, he dissolved Fitzgerald Hartley and opened Hey Buddy Management, with Gill as the sole client.

Williams previously served in roles as vp of creative for BMI and president of MCA Music Nashville. He is the former chairman of the board for the Country Music Association and is currently board chairman of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where he is also a trustee.

Earlier this year, Gill signed a lifetime recording agreement with his longtime label home, Nashville’s MCA Records. He has also begun releasing an EP of new music each month, as part of his series 50 Years From Home.