Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount may be about to significantly change the entertainment landscape with a new super streaming service.
According to a stunning report from Axiosthe studios have reportedly been in discussions about a possible 'mega-merger', which would see the duo combine their resources to take on major rivals Disney and Netflix on the big and small screens.
On the latter point, multiple sources told Axios that if the companies were to join forces, part of their strategy would be for Max — WBD's superstreamer replacement for HBO Max, which only launched in May — and Paramount Plus to merge to form the overwhelming success. from Netflix and Disney Plus. Currently, Max is only available in the US, so it's unclear how a potential WBD-Paramount merger would affect British and Australian viewers, who subscribe to Sky and Foxtel respectively to watch WBD-developed shows.
First: Warner Bros. Discovery (@wbd) in talks to merge with @Paramount – David Zaslav met with Bob Bakish at Paramount headquarters on Tuesday to discuss – Zaslav has also spoken to Shari Redstone about a deal – WBD has hired bankers Story on @ axios: https ://t.co/ExGZisf3fuDecember 20, 2023
Questions remain about which entertainment giant could acquire the other as part of a potential merger. Axios claims that WBD currently has a higher market value ($29 billion) than Paramount Global ($10 billion), so it's likely that WBD would buy the company formerly known as ViacomCBS because it would have more money to do so.
Be that as it may, the talks are said to be at a very early stage. Axios suggests that an initial meeting between WBD CEO David Zaslav and his Paramount counterpart Bob Bakish only took place yesterday (December 20), so it will be some time before we learn more details about a plausible, industry-shaking deal.
We've reached out to WBD and Paramount for comment, and we'll update this article if we hear back.
A sign of the streaming times
This isn't the first instance where Paramount has seemingly tried to partner with another company's entertainment division. On December 1, we reported that executives from Paramount Plus and Apple TV Plus were talking about creating a low-cost streaming bundle for Netflix. That deal would see Apple TV Plus and Paramount's struggling streamer packaged together to combat Netflix's streaming dominance. However, there were no discussions about an official merger of Apple and Paramount Global as part of that deal.
Axios' report suggests that Paramount Global is “under enormous pressure” to partner with another studio due to its unsustainable debt. If true, it wouldn't be a complete shock to see why the seemingly ailing company has sought talks with other entertainment giants to shore up its cash reserves and expose Paramount Plus' library of content to more viewers.
It's fascinating to see WBD also positioning itself as a potential buyer of Paramount Global. The conglomerate has not been immune to its own financial problems: Zaslav cancels films ready for release, such as Batgirl And Coyote vs. Acme, to write them down as tax write-offs. WBD also recently licensed several HBO TV shows to Netflix to generate cash to reduce its own debt pile. If WBD is struggling as much as Paramount, does it have the cash reserves to even play for one of its rivals?
I think this gif speaks for all of us with this potential merger: https://t.co/2wKLbyQEr0 pic.twitter.com/jJdtyul9IADecember 20, 2023
Then there's the question of how a Max-Paramount Plus megastreamer would work. As I mentioned, Max didn't arrive on the scene until May 2023, when the platform born from HBO Max and Discovery Plus joined forces following WarnerMedia and Discovery's own merger in April 2022. Would Paramount Plus actually merge with Max, bringing the best Paramount Plus shows and best Paramount Plus movies free for Max subscribers? Or would it be bundled with Max in a similar way to the Disney Plus bundle that allows US customers to subscribe to Disney Plus and Hulu at a lower price?
Add to that the even messier prospect of how a merger between WBD and Paramount would affect WBD's licensing deals with international companies including Sky and Foxtel, plus obvious concerns about WBD's monopoly on the streaming industry, and a mega-streamer from Max- Paramount Plus has a lot of problems. vanquish. In short: I don't want it, and neither do you.