Paramount’s Bold Bid for Warner: What a $60 Billion Merger Means for Hollywood

Skydance, backed by the Ellison family, has just acquired Paramount, and is now eyeing Warner Bros. Discovery for its next takeover. If consummated, the merger would unite some of the most valuable entertainment assets under one roof—streaming platforms, TV networks, movie studios, and sports rights. The combined company would immediately rival Disney and Netflix in scale.

But behind the headline value, the proposed deal underscores a troubling trajectory: fewer players controlling more content, leaving less room for independent producers, distributors, and professionals. With Warner valued at over $40 billion and carrying $35 billion in debt, Paramount, with a market capitalization of around $19 billion, would need deep financial backing from the Ellison family and Apollo Global Management to execute the audacious takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

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Media Empire of Studios, Streamers, and Franchises

A Paramount–Warner merger would instantly create the most formidable content library in the industry, spanning blockbuster films, dominant streaming platforms, top cable networks, and globally recognized franchises.

Paramount Skydance arrives with a powerhouse portfolio: Paramount Pictures at the center of its film division; Paramount+ and Pluto TV anchoring its streaming reach; and cable staples such as BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, and TV Land. Its slate of franchises stretches from “CSI” and “NCIS” to “Mission: Impossible,” “The Godfather,” and “Yellowstone.”

Warner Bros. Discovery offers equally prized assets. Warner Bros. Pictures continues to drive box office dominance, backed by Discovery+ and HBO Max on the streaming side. Its cable presence includes the Discovery Channel, HGTV, TBS, TNT, and TLC. Warner’s vault of franchises is unrivaled, built on “DC Comics,” “Game of Thrones,” “Harry Potter,” and “The Lord of the Rings.”

Combined, these assets would give a merged entity a breadth unmatched in Hollywood—control over both legacy media and the digital platforms shaping the future. Yet Warner’s chief executive, David Zaslav, has shown no interest in selling, pressing forward instead with a plan to split Warner Bros. Discovery next spring. Yet with Ellison’s financial and political backing—and Wall Street’s support—Paramount could bypass board resistance altogether by taking its offer directly to shareholders, seizing control of another of Hollywood’s crown jewels.

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Proposed Deal Narrows Netflix’s Streaming Dominance

The streaming stakes are substantial. Warner’s HBO Max and Discovery+ combined counted 125.7 million global subscribers at mid-year, delivering $293 million in quarterly adjusted profit. Paramount+, meanwhile, tallied 77.7 million global subscribers, generating $157 million in direct-to-consumer profits for the same quarter.

Paid Streaming Subscribers (U.S.)

In the U.S., Paramount+ maintains a stronger presence than Warner’s HBO Max and Discovery+, but all three remain far behind the leading players. Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu continue to dominate the subscription race, leaving Paramount and Warner to fight over a distant second tier. If combined, the two companies would command nearly 204 million global subscribers —a formidable number that would instantly make them the second-largest streaming portfolio in the market, behind Netflix’s 270 million worldwide subscribers.

For film and television professionals, the merger could mean tighter commissioning budgets. Instead of competing for content, a merged entity would integrate slates, inevitably reducing opportunities for external producers.

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Treasure Chest of IP at Stake

At the box office, Warner Bros. Discovery is enjoying a surge. Hits like “Minecraft,” “Sinners,” and the latest “Superman” installment have cemented its place atop the 2025 global charts. Warner’s DC Comics slate provides a stable, although deteriorating, pipeline of high-profile IP.

Paramount counters with “Mission: Impossible,” “Transformers,” and other globally recognizable franchises. A merger would create a studio arsenal spanning DC superheroes and Paramount’s action tentpoles. For Wall Street, such consolidation promises blockbuster synergy. For filmmakers, it signals fewer bidders for scripts and less appetite for originality.

Instead of pitching to two competing slates, independent producers would confront one less buyer in the marketplace, reducing competition for projects, pushing down acquisition prices, and limiting creative opportunities.

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Discover What Streaming Services Pay to License Films and Shows

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Profit Engines to Relics of a Bygone Era

Just a decade ago, cable networks were prized assets. Now, they’re legacy costs. Cable penetration in U.S. households has collapsed from 86% to 51% over the past 10 years. Ratings for once-dominant channels have plummeted, while ad dollars shift to streaming.

Still, Warner controls powerful brands like TNT and HGTV, while Paramount houses MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and BET. Paramount’s TV Land is its only top-20 cable network by primetime viewership this year.

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Stacking the Deck in Sports Broadcasting

Sports remain the last bastion of appointment viewing. Together, Warner and Paramount would command rights to portions of three of the four major U.S. sports leagues. Paramount has secured exclusive UFC rights starting next year, while Warner holds long-term NBA and MLB packages.

For advertisers, such dominance creates a must-buy bundle. For fans, it raises the risk of fewer distribution choices and higher costs. For sports media professionals, it means even tighter control of broadcast opportunities and production contracts.

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Debt-Heavy Gamble with Political Ties

Pulling off the takeover would require extraordinary leverage in a time of credit tightening and, many believe, an economic recession. Paramount would attempt to acquire a company twice its size, burdened by $35 billion in debt. Still, Wall Street has fueled optimism: Paramount’s stock is up 45% this year, while Warner’s has surged 60% amid speculation of cost savings and consolidation.

The Ellison family financial muscle, backed by Apollo Global Management’s willingness to provide debt financing, could make the improbable possible. Yet history shows that such megamergers often deliver only shareholder and insider gains at the expense of everyone else.

Typically, such a consolidation would face antitrust scrutiny. But the Trump administration’s permissive stance toward corporate tie-ups has emboldened dealmakers. The Ellisons’ close ties to Trump add fuel to expectations that a merger would easily clear regulatory hurdles.

If approved, it would cement a media oligopoly. Independent studios, regional broadcasters, and smaller streamers would be left to survive on scraps as the “Big Three” of Disney, Netflix, and a Paramount-Warner hybrid dictate terms across theatrical, streaming, and linear television.

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FilmTake Away: Consolidation Shrinks Hollywood Again

Skydance’s audacious attempt to absorb Warner Bros. Discovery right after Paramount is more than a corporate story; it’s a cultural one. The deal would eliminate one of the last competitive checks in Hollywood, consolidating power into fewer boardrooms and narrowing the path for film and television professionals.

Where once competing studios courted producers, distributors, and writers, a merged behemoth would bring fewer buyers, lower licensing fees, and diminished creative risk-taking.

In the end, consolidation may enrich a small group of insiders, but it makes the media world smaller, less diverse, and less open to independent voices.

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