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Paramount Skydance Completes $110bn Warner Bros. Takeover
Confirmed
In Short: Paramount Skydance has completed its $110bn takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing CNN and CBS News under the same corporate ownership.
The deal, which combines two of Hollywood’s biggest studios, was initially opposed by Hollywood workers, politicians, and state prosecutors concerned about the concentration of power in the industry.
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Skydance, said the completion of the deal was 'historic' for the film industry.
Ellison stated, 'From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere. Now that ambition is a reality.'
The new company, Skydance Corporation, brings together HBO, CBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Comedy Central, DC Studios, and Food Network, alongside streaming services Paramount Plus and HBO Max.
The merger also brings iconic franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and The Lord of the Rings under Paramount Skydance's ownership, adding to its existing catalogue of hit franchises such as Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, and Shrek.
Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester Research, noted that the combined entity, now called Skydance, needs to cut costs and make bigger profits to manage its debt.
The deal with US states aims to ensure the merged studios will produce 'real, robust movies' that will generate economic activity and put people back to work, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
However, the merger has raised concerns about editorial independence and freedom of speech.
Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo said, 'This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech and cost people their jobs.'
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, criticized the move, stating, 'A Paramount-appointed editorial independence board for CNN and CBS is worthless. The fish rots from the head, and this particular fish is headed by a compromised oligarch with a history of throwing journalists under the bus to advance his business interests.'
What this adds
The newly merged entertainment behemoth will be re-branded under the name Skydance Corporation, the company originally founded by David Ellison before he took over both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Background
In a message to staff, Skydance CEO David Ellison and Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz praised the company's employees for their patience and hard work during the year-long process of merging Paramount and Warner Bros. into Skydance.
Veteran studio executive Josh Goldstine will now oversee marketing and distribution for Paramount, Warner Bros., and any other film labels under the Skydance banner, following the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger that closed Tuesday.
Warner Bros. is a brand name that has been used by several multinational mass media and entertainment companies and corporations, mostly based in the United States, originating from the original Warner Bros. Pictures, a major American film studio founded in 1923.
What's confirmed
- “They’re terrific people, and it’s going to be a great company,” he said.
- Netflix initially reached an agreement to buy part of Warner Bros Discovery.
What's still developing
- Paramount then launched a competing bid, prompting a bidding war before Netflix walked away.
- “As Trump tries to ban CNN from the White House, it would be a massive mistake to cave on the Paramount merger,” she said, referring to the US president’s so-far thwarted attempt last month to bar reporters from several news organisations, including CNN, from accessing the White House.
- “We’re going to make sure that CNN and CBS News are completely editorially independent,” he said on Tuesday.
- Shortly after Paramount launched its bid in December, Trump accused CNN of spreading “poison and lies” and said it was “imperative” that it be sold, while the Trump administration has moved to bar CNN from reporting in certain areas of the White House.
- The acquisition, worth about $110bn including debt, combines two of Hollywood’s biggest studios after months of legal challenges lodged by state attorneys general and unions.
- Watch: What the Paramount and Warner Bros deal means for you Paramount Skydance has officially taken over Warner Bros Discovery in a $110bn merger that is set to reshape Hollywood and the media landscape.
- The newly merged entertainment behemoth will be re-branded under the name Skydance Corporation, the company originally founded by David Ellison before he took over both Paramount and Warner Bros Discover.
- Films and streaming prices - how the Warner Bros deal could affect you Asked about the merger after it had been finalised, US President Donald Trump described the deal as "great".
- "The fact Tom Cruise movie Digger, Warner Bros' last release before the merger, has been a major flop is a reminder of how the film industry is not a guaranteed ticket to riches."
- As for the rest of what he said about the closing of this Paramount and Warner Bros. merger, that is all very much up in the air.
- Let's go! https://t.co/89jxDrzVGU pic.twitter.com/e6P28HkRto It’s also hard to take the mention of competition seriously, as Skydance itself noted the company’s many (some might say “monopolistic-level”) assets.
- While Skydance also says it will abide by its deals with AGs and produce “30 high-quality theatrical films per year and 180+ television shows and series” in exchange for this merger of Paramount and Warner Bros., that won’t mean anything until/unless that actually happens. ( And we’ll see if the company even can, considering the astronomical purchase price.) The Paramount and Warner Bros. deal might be done, but what this all truly means for Hollywood is just starting.