• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Netflix wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery? Really?

According to CNBC, yes. Also throw Comcast Corp. into the mix, apparently.

This seems to be an interesting time. But hold on a second.

First, many would wonder why Netflix, the dominant premium streaming platform, would consider -- for some -- stepping back to grab some old-school media assets.

We could figure that value resides in where Netflix continues to eye near-term and long-term needs -- and that comes with movie and TV production assets. But not exactly where you think. It isn’t to do more “Superman” or “Despicable Me” franchise movies.

“The content driving Netflix’s subscriber growth has been original IP,” Rich Greenfield, partner/media analyst of LightShed Partners, said recently. “Not to mention, Netflix is having no trouble licensing catalog content from Hollywood studios who are increasingly desperate to license to Netflix.”

Still, Netflix executives are looking at the same mature streaming marketplace scenario as the rest of the world, which is: Where will future growth come from? More sports programming? Future video gaming? Podcasts? More live content?

Netflix seems to be dabbling in everything. And it has the cash flow to do just this. Perhaps the focus could be on where YouTube might be heading.

For Comcast Corp. it sees possibly the same future portrait. The difference is no doubt a bit more mixed. In the near term, cable TV networks still generate decent revenue, so is there any play when it comes to future cable TV network dominance?

Comcast's immediate interest is to find growth for its Versant, a cable TV network group spinoff that is ready to launch as a publicly traded company. At the same time, it can ill-afford to let Paramount or even Netflix gain more marketplace strength in streaming platforms. Peacock is growing fairly well, but still has a long way to go.

Last month, Paramount Skydance got the ball rolling with its disclosure that it also wanted to buy WBD for $20 a share.

The difference today is coming from WBD’s and its board of directors making a statement that it is now considering “strategic options” -- with “unsolicited interest” from “multiple parties.”

Where that interest is still is not clear.