Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix have very different approaches to remote work.
John Lamparski/Getty Images; Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto
Remote work policies are changing at many large companies, including media giants.
NBCUniversal and Paramount Skydance asked staffers to return to the office in early 2026.
Here's a list of which major media firms do and do not allow remote work.
It was a year of RTO mandates in the media industry.
Those issuing new guidance included media giants like NBCUniversal and Paramount Skydance, which this fall told thousands of employees to prepare to work in person four or five days a week in early 2026.
Work-from-home policies haven't gone extinct at Netflix or its acquisition target, Warner Bros. Discovery, however. YouTube also has a flexible approach to remote work.
Here's the latest on work-from-home and return-to-office policies at six major media and tech companies heading into 2026.
Paramount Skydance: 5 days a week (with exceptions)
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Paramount announced this year that it would be calling thousands of employees back to its New York and Los Angeles offices to work in-person five days a week starting January 5, 2026. The decision came in early September, less than a month after CEO David Ellison took charge after the Paramount-Skydance merger.
Staffers who weren't up for in-person work were offered a severance package, which about 600 employees took, Paramount said in its third-quarter shareholder letter in mid-November.
Some Paramount staff members can continue to work from home for now, including those based outside the US and those who were hired for fully remote roles. These employees who aren't assigned to the NY or LA offices will hear about "Phase Two" of Paramount's return-to-office plan in 2026, Ellison told employees in his September memo.
NBCUniversal: 4 days a weekFILE PHOTO: A peacock is pictured outside NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Center in the Manhattan borough of New York City
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Comcast's NBCUniversal followed in Paramount's footsteps, telling employees to report to its office four days per week starting January 5, 2026. NBCU staffers can still work from home on Fridays.
"In-person work and collaboration spark innovation, promote creativity, and build stronger connections," NBCU operating chief Adam Miller said in a memo to staffers about the change.
NBCU also gave a severance offer to employees who weren't willing to return to the office. Notably, this exit package was one-size-fits-all, meaning that it wasn't dependent on how long staffers had worked for the parent of Peacock and Universal Studios.
Disney: 4 days a week
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Disney's return-to-office edict came nearly three years ago in early 2023, when CEO Bob Iger called most Mouse House staffers back to the office four days a week.
"It is my belief that working together more in-person will benefit the company's creativity, culture, and our employees' careers," Iger told employees at the time.
However, Disney's remote work policy isn't always enforced equally. Some staffers have told Business Insider that their managers strictly enforce the four-day rule, while others have said that their bosses are more lax about badge swipes.
Warner Bros. Discovery: 3 days a week
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Warner Bros. Discovery requires most of its employees to work in person three days a week, with a work-from-home option on the other two days.
The tech giant's remote work policy lets employees work from home two days a week. It also offers a "Work From Anywhere" program, allowing staff members to telecommute for four weeks a year.
Google revised that "Work From Anywhere" policy this fall, CNBC reported, citing an internal memo telling employees that using one so-called "WFA" day in a week would count as using an entire week. That's because these "WFA" weeks are intended for use when employees work away from their homes or worksites, and not as a substitute for a work-from-home or paid-time-off day.
"The policy was always intended to be taken in increments of a week and not be used as a substitute for working from home in a regular hybrid workweek," John Casey, Google's VP of performance and rewards, said of the change in a call with employees, CNBC reported.
Netflix: Fully remote option
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Netflix hasn't set a companywide work-site policy, meaning that employees can be fully remote, work in the office every day, or anywhere in between.
Employees' working locations can vary by team and position, which a Netflix spokesperson said gives teams "the information and freedom to make decisions that best suit their type of work."