Entertainment
The Company That Ruined Star Trek Has Plans To Ruin Batman Next
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
The bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t over yet. Thanks to a concession from Netflix, Star Trek’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, has reopened negotiations with Warner Bros. to acquire its extensive library. The seven-day window ends February 23, 2026, and the final vote will take place March 20.
Warner Bros includes Discovery Channel, HBO Max, CNN, and Cartoon Network, as well as Batman owners DC Comics and DC Studios. The DC Universe has especially faced backlash, with a controversial Superman that didn’t perform as hoped at the box office and a new Supergirl movie coming out in which everyone is rooting for Jason Momoa’s Lobo more than the titular heroine. The company has spent the last few years writing off properties for tax purposes, including famously shuttering a completed Batgirl movie.
Three Different Bidders Competing For Control Of WB
Paramount issued the first salvo in September 2025 when new CEO David Ellison made the first of many offers to David Zaslav of Warner Bros, which started at $19 per share. These offers increased through October until they became $23.50, 80% of which they offered in cash rather than other assets like stocks and real estate. On October 21, 2025, Warner Bros formally rejected Paramount’s offer and opened up talks for other bids.
Although Comcast was briefly involved in the bidding, the majority of the competition has been between Paramount and Netflix. Both companies offer significant libraries of content, and whichever of the two manages to snag Warner Bros would establish dominance over mainstream streaming. This would also reduce the market, because the only other major studio is Disney.
Another major player in the bidding war is Ancora Alternatives LLC, a small activist investor that owns shares in Warner Bros. and is holding out in favor of Paramount. On February 11, 2026, the firm announced that it would block the Netflix deal if due consideration were not given to Paramount offers, since existing deals with Netflix allow WBD to consider serious offers, and those made by Paramount qualified. Ancora’s protest prompted the reopening of negotiations by validating Paramount’s accusations of favoritism toward Netflix.
How To Buy An Entertainment Monopoly
Paramount also argued that a Netflix acquisition of the Warner Bros. studios would change the landscape of theatrical releases. Netflix has been notoriously unfriendly to movie theaters, preferring to release movies on its own platform; films like Knives Out theatrical releases were limited to mere weeks at the box office before Netflix hastened to make them exclusively streaming.
However, Paramount ownership presents its own problems. Despite years of corporate magic changing the names of the owners of both Paramount and Warner Brothers, both studios have been around for over a century and have long been rivals, as are their competing prestige cable channels, Showtime and HBO. A merger between the two giants would be suspiciously close to a monopoly.
If any offer is accepted from either company, the next step would be a review by governmental trade regulators around the world. All the companies involved have international reach and would be subject to the trade and monopoly laws of all the countries they hope to stream in. Even though nothing has been finalized about the purchase, various government regulators and watchdogs have been scrutinizing the situation and weighing its potential consequences.
Other various mergers and acquisitions have reorganized television and cable networks, dividing the spoils among streamers. Comcast owns NBC, Paramount owns CBS, and Disney owns both ABC and Fox Entertainment. As how we consume entertainment continues to change, the answer to whoever gets Warner Bros. Discovery will resound across the industry.
Entertainment
How to watch Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup online for free
TL;DR: Live stream Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The 2026 T20 World Cup action this weekend is absolutely electric. A lot of fans will be tuning into the huge clash between India and West Indies later today, but for an exciting warm up, Zimbabwe face off against South Africa.
Zimbabwe did well to make this stage of the competition, but they’ve lost both their games in the second group stage. South Africa have looked formidable, and will want to continue their run of wins before the semi finals. Expect an action-packed contest between two talented sides.
If you want to watch Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Zimbabwe vs. South Africa?
Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup starts at 4:30 a.m. ET on March 1. This game takes place at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium.
How to watch Zimbabwe vs. South Africa for free
Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.
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This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Zimbabwe vs. South Africa in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access
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Visit ICC.TV
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Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you’ll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
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Fast connection speeds
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Watch the 2026 T20 World Cup for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for March 1, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
Mixed metals.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
ALLOY
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A popular board game.
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Hurdle Word 2 Answer
CHESS
Hurdle Word 3 hint
The edge of the beach.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
COAST
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Milk-based.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
DAIRY
Final Hurdle hint
A Spanish character.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
TILDE
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Entertainment
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on March 1
It’s a new month, and while the Moon may appear totally full, we’re still a couple of days away from this yet. But in the meantime, there’s still lots to spot on its surface.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Sunday, March 1, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 94% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.
With just your naked eye, tonight you’ll be able to see the Mares Imbrium and Crisium, as well as the Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars hanging about, dust them off and pull them out to catch a glimpse of the Mares Nectaris and Frigoris, and the Endymion Crater. And proud telescope owners will see all this and more, including the Apollo 15 and 17 landing spots, and the Schiller Crater.
When is the next Full Moon?
The next Full Moon will be on March 3. The last Full Moon was on Feb. 1.
What are Moon phases?
According to NASA, the Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit the Earth. Over the course of this period, it moves through eight recognisable phases, what we call the lunar cycle. While the same side of the Moon always faces us, the amount of its surface lit by the Sun changes as it continues along its path. The shifts in sunlight create the different appearances we see from Earth, ranging from a fully illuminated Moon to a thin sliver or near darkness. The eight phases are:
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
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Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
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