What just happened? Nearly a year after a Warner Bros. acquisition was within Netflix's grasp, Paramount has closed its counteroffer despite opposition from thousands of Hollywood figures and a dozen US states. The deal will intensify an already controversial wave of media consolidation and raise questions about the future of two major news organizations.
Paramount has officially begun its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, turning parent company Skydance into a new media giant. Following the closure, Skydance confirmed that it will eventually combine streaming services HBO Max, Paramount+, and Discovery+.
Skydance, which acquired Paramount for $8 billion last year, now also owns Warner Bros., HBO, CBS, CNN, and TNT Sports. The new entity controls numerous major media properties, including Harry Potter, SpongeBob SquarePants, Top Gun, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, The Wire, and more.
The deal's price tag totals nearly $111 billion and includes billions of dollars in additional debt for Skydance. Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz stressed that the company has a plan for managing its debt load, which now approaches $80 billion. Among the acquisition's backers are three Gulf nations: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The purchase follows an expensive bidding war with Netflix, which nearly acquired Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion last December. Warner Bros. even rejected Paramount's subsequent $108 billion offer, partly because of Netflix's more reliable financing. Paramount Skydance is currently valued at approximately $11 billion, compared with Netflix's $286 billion. However, Netflix backed out after Paramount secured additional financing that allowed it to offer Warner Bros. $31 per share.
Critics of the deal fear that further media consolidation will lead to more job losses, less choice, and higher prices. Thousands of Hollywood actors and other personalities signed an open letter opposing the acquisition, and 12 states – California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington – sued to block it. Paramount eventually settled by agreeing to remedies that include releasing at least 30 films per year, each with a minimum 45-day theatrical window.
The merger also raises concerns regarding the future of CBS and CNN. The Trump administration, which has long-standing ties to Ellison, is a fierce critic of CNN and recently restricted its access to the White House. President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the deal.
Paramount now owns Warner Bros, HBO, CBS, and CNN, and Netflix is out
