Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Consider a Merger
By Movieguide® Contributor
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount are in early discussions to merge into a single conglomerate.
The company’s CEOs, David Zaslav and Bob Bakish, met earlier this week to discuss the possibility of Warner Bros. acquiring Paramount. The pair discussed how the companies would complement each other in their film, TV and streaming ventures.
While neither company has released a public statement about the talks, Warner Bros. has hired bankers to explore the possibility of an acquisition.
Both companies are longstanding giants in the entertainment industry with significant stakes in nearly every sphere of entertainment. A pooling of their assets would result in a massive conglomerate of TV, movies, sports and streaming to rival any entertainment giant, including Disney and Netflix.
Warner Bros. currently owns CNN, HBO, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, HGTV and TLC among others, while Paramount controls CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET.
As for movie franchises, Warner Bros. has produced the DC Universe, HARRY POTTER and LORD OF THE RINGS among others. Paramount owns TOP GUN, THE GODFATHER, TERMINATOR, TRANSFORMERS, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, STAR TREK and more.
Warner Bros. and Paramount also both run streaming services – Max and Paramount+ – which would potentially merge into a single platform.
The talks were ignited by National Amusements Inc., which owns a major stake in Paramount, announcing its interest in selling its share of the company.
Paramount is currently facing a large amount of debt, which would potentially hold back the conglomerate if a merger were to occur. However, Zaslav announced earlier this year that Warner Bros. has allocated more capital towards expansion funds, potentially covering a large portion of this debt.
While the deal is nowhere near completion, the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount would prove to be a massive changeup in entertainment with the potential to create a major powerhouse that could take over the industry.
However, investors don’t seem pleased by the prospect. CNN reported, “Since news of the potential deal broke on Wednesday afternoon, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery have dropped by over 5%, while Paramount’s stock rose initially on the report but returned to the level it was trading at before the report came out.”
Movieguide® previously reported on industry mergers:
Discovery announced Friday that their stockholders have approved their merger with WarnerMedia to create Warner Bros. Discovery.
The new company will combine WarnerMedia’s entertainment, sports, and news content with Discovery’s nonfiction, international entertainment, and sports businesses.
According to Deadline, the Warner Bros. Discovery merger won’t be finalized until April, but this announcement means the two companies can now start discussions about management structure and the organization of the businesses.
They will also figure out how this merger will affect the two companies’ streaming services, like CNN+, which will launch March 29.
The $43 million merger will create a huge new player in the entertainment world, with 200,000 hours of programming and 100+ channels, including HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC, CNN, WB Games, Turner Sports, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Food Network, TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Wizarding World, Adult Swim, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC, Animal Planet, and ID.
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