Warner Bros. Discovery And Paramount Merger Is Official As New Company Name Is Announced
by Witney Seibold · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
Google Discover
According to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has been given the green light to spend $111 billion dollars to acquire Warner Bros. The deal is expected to close on October 6, 2026, creating an entertainment behemoth that frightens everyone. According to Variety, this is the most expensive takeover in Hollywood history. This merger came after 12 state attorneys general tried to prevent the merger over antitrust concerns. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who was overseeing the case, approved of a settlement for those attorneys general, meaning that the merger can go ahead.
This comes after recent mergers of Warner Bros. and Discovery in 2022, and a merger of Paramount and Skydance in 2024. Warner Bros. was founded in 1923. Paramount Pictures was founded in 1912. Skydance Media was founded in 2006, and the Discovery Channel in 1985. In 2026, they will all be one.
The new resulting company will be called Skydance, per Variety. The Hollywood Reporter had previously postulated that it would not be called Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery, but probably just Skydance, and they were correct. The same Hollywood Reporter article pointed out that, even back in the 1930s, there was so much nonsensical studio effrontery that the Marx Bros. named their company "International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of North Dakota."
A CNN Newsletter from September 30 has more details on the deal, and points out all of the complications that will now arise in the wake of this leviathan-like merger. New leadership will need to be selected, and it's all but guaranteed that massive layoffs will occur. The Los Angeles Times noted that most people in Hollywood didn't want this merger, which will force Skydance CEO David Ellison to essentially start a tour of attrition.
No one wants this
The Los Angeles Times also pointed out that this merger will put Ellison $80 billion in debt, so if he aims to make his money back, he will have to make his new super-studio appealing. As an outsider, it's difficult to see how this benefits anyone other than CEOs, politicians, and those who seek to control American media. The author of the L.A. Times Article, Stacy Perman, was able to talk to one Gabriel Kahn, a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Kahn noted that he doesn't envy David Ellison right now, pointing out all the problems:
"You bought this ship, now you've got to sail it. And you're facing threats on all fronts: bad will, everybody rooting for you to fail and operating a business in an incredibly uncertain, challenging time. At the same time, you are going to have to mortgage everything to make these debt payments."
Time will tell if this merger will keep the studio system alive and keep theatrical releases robust, or if it will just be a last-ditch effort to squeeze money out of a withering industry. David Ellison has, according to a Variety report, already hired ex-Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz to be co-CEO of the new company. To reiterate, it will be called Skydance. David Ellison has made a bold promise about HBO's future, for what it may be worth.
It's worth pausing to note just how much will be coming together with this merger. It's not just Paramount and Warner Bros., but a massive media empire that they collectively control. HBO Max and Paramount+ will, of course, be folded in together. A full report from Forbes back in July, however, points out the sheer size of this new empire.
How big will Skydance be?
The Forbes report put the merger into perspective, noting that this new company controls New Line Cinema, DC Studios, Paramount Animation, Warner Animation Group, and, of course, Skydance Media. In streaming, the company will have control of HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, Discovery+, BET+, and many other smaller companies. In terms of TV networks, Skydance controls CBS, HBO, TNT, TBS, HGTV, the Food Network, the Discovery Channel, the Cartoon Network (including Adult Swim), Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET.
In terms of the news — and this is the most distressing part of this merger — one company now oversees CNN, CBS News, and "60 Minutes." I won't get into the details here, other than to remind readers that several major news companies have been capitulating to the current capricious presidential administration, so there is a dark cloud over the potential political leanings and money-backed interests of all the above media.
In terms of sporting events, this new company will also have most of it. CBS Sports and TNT Sports will be under the same umbrella, and this new company will have, it is presumed, exclusive contracts with organizations like the NFL, and will be broadcasting NCAA March Madness, Big Ten games, SEC football and basketball, and PGA Tour events.
If you've been looking forward to a crossover between Batman and "Star Trek," then maybe you're excited about the super-merger. If, however, you're an ordinary media consumer in the modern world, you may be chilled to realize that one man is controlling your information and entertainment. John Oliver blasted Paramount's Warner Bros. takeover on "Last Week Tonight."
Fingers crossed things turn out okay overall.