Newsletter
After merging with (then) WarnerMedia in 2022, the combined company of Warner Bros Discovery is reportedly eyeing a merger with Paramount next.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslov reportedly met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday in New York City. Axios is reporting that multiple sources say the meeting was about a possible merger between the two companies.
The meeting reportedly lasted several hours and took place at Paramount’s headquarters in Times Square. The two discussed ways that their companies could complement one another, which would obviously include merging Max and Paramount Plus together, to better compete with Disney Plus and Netflix.
Currently, it is unclear whether Warner Bros Discovery would buy Paramount Global or its parent company, National Amusements Inc (NAI). However, sources have said that both options are on the table. Currently, National Amusement Inc is worth around $479, however it is not a publicly traded company. Paramount, however, is. And its current market cap is set at $10 billion. Paramount’s stock did spike about four percent on this news but has since retreated.
Why would WBD want to merge with Paramount Global?
It wasn’t that long ago that we were shocked to see WarnerMedia (under AT&T) merge with Discovery, and it was actually AT&T selling WarnerMedia to Discovery after spending $85.4 billion (plus a court case against the DOJ) to buy Time Warner, and then it sold off all of what they bought just a few years later. But now that WBD is looking to buy Paramount Global, what’s the end game?
Well, to put it simply, consolidation. During the pandemic, every studio was launching their own streaming service. They saw everyone subscribing since everyone was stuck at home and needed stuff to watch. But now that most are back to work, that’s not quite the same story. Most streaming services need to raise rates because subscribers are fleeing to save money. That’s leaving the big streaming services thriving while smaller ones – like Paramount Plus – hurting for revenue.
There have been reports recently that Paramount was looking to work with Apple to bundle TV Plus and Paramount Plus together. Now it looks like they might just sell the whole company to David Zaslov.
The two companies actually complement each other quite well. WBD could use its international distribution footprint to help boost Paramount’s franchises, like Top Gun. Paramount’s children’s programming, like Nickelodeon and Nick Jr, could be big assets to WBD’s long-term streaming goals. Seeing CBS News and CNN combine would be pretty interesting, as well as NCIS and Criminal Minds combined with Investigation Discovery and TruTV.
This isn’t just talk either, as WBD has reportedly hired bankers to explore the deal. But for now it’s just talk, and no deal has been finalized just yet.