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Warner Bros and Paramount Discuss Possible Merger

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Global have previously held talks about a potential union of the two global media companies. By: Dylan Low

According to sources, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had linked up with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish for a lunch meeting in New York. They were talking about a possible merger of both companies. Zaslav also had discussions with Shari Redstone, with her company National Amusements Inc. (NAI) owning a major stake in Paramount Global, regarding possible combination of both businesses.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount would be targeting to gather their assets, centred around TV, film, sports and streaming, to obtain larger scale and operational efficiencies. Particularly, WBD and Paramount will have a common objective in uniting their Max and Paramount+ premium streaming services to contend with competitors such as Netflix and Disney, with Disney+ and Hulu.

For films, Warner Bros. Discovery would obtain major properties from Paramount Pictures, namely film franchises like Terminator, Transformers, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, A Quiet Place, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Godfather, Paranormal Activity, Scream and Star Trek. The Warner Bros. Pictures film line-up includes popular franchises – the DC Extended Universe films, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

A potential merger of WBD and Paramount Global would likely bring together their TV operations. Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable listing is inclusive of CNN, HBO, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network, Food Network, HGTV, TLC etc. Paramount’s network collection consists of CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and BET.

Additional sources revealed that WBD’s senior executives were of the opinion they had to act fast to enter discussions with Paramount Global, following reports of Skydance’s interest in purchasing Redstone’s NAI stake.

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