Though U.S. and EU regulators still need to put the final stamp on the deal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance have now officially announced that their $111 billion megamerger is a go.
The joint announcement follows the bombshell news that Netflix had decided to pull out of the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery just a couple of hours after the David Zaslav-led media company’s board declared Paramount's new bid a “superior proposal.”
Paramount mogul David Ellison said: “From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company. By bringing together these world-class studios, our complementary streaming platforms, and the extraordinary talent behind them, we will create even greater value for audiences, partners and shareholders — and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav added, “I’m very pleased with the outcome we achieved for WBD shareholders and the entertainment industry. Our guiding principle throughout this process has been to secure a transaction that maximizes the value of our iconic assets and our century-old studio while delivering as much certainty as possible for our investors. We look forward to working with Paramount to complete this historic transaction.”
As part of the deal, Paramount and Warner Bros. will operate as independent studios, with a commitment to 15 films from each every year, with full 45-day windows before going to premium video on-demand, with longer windows for hit films.
There are other concerns, of course, and many within the industry worry that Ellison’s close ties to the Trump administration could stifle free expression.
“Ellison scares the shit out of me,” one A-list director tells Variety. “Are the movies they put out going to be catered to Trump’s taste? Are they going to start cracking down on content that they don’t find to be ideologically aligned with the right?”
In any event, we're not expecting to see any major shakeups when it comes to the running of DC Studios, HBO Max and the like, although top executive reshuffles are always a possibility.
WB Pictures chiefs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca are coming off a massively successful 2025 after the likes of Sinners and One Battle After Another, and there are whispers that "the executive turnstiles are about to swing once again."
“If they’re smart, they’ll keep Mike and Pam,” says one media executive. “But there’s only so much executive power to go around. Decisions will need to be made.”