Paramount Skydance has won the bidding war with Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery and is already making plans to incorporate it and its subsidiaries into its extensive lineup of entertainment and media companies, although it faces potential antitrust challenges from state attorneys general and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
This $110 billion move will likely cement Paramount and its CEO, David Ellison, as true contenders in the world of media and entertainment. This merger poses a new threat to the rest of the oligopoly (a small number of large firms that control most of the market share), putting the company on-par with giants such as Disney, Sony, Comcast, Amazon, and Netflix. The conglomerate already consists of Paramount, Nickelodeon, Skydance, CBS, and MTV, and the expansion deal will provide the Paramount network with additions such as Warner Bros, Discovery, HBO, CNN, HGTV, Food Network, and Cartoon Network.
The two companies announced plans to merge their respective streaming services Paramount Plus, which has well-established film franchises available under their umbrella which include: Sonic the Hedgehog, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, and A Quiet Place. Its prominent TV franchises consist of: Star Trek, Transformers, Survivor, Yellowstone (and its spin-offs), South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, CSI, NCIS, along with the rest of its film archive from its 113 years of making movies and television. With HBO Max, it adds an equally impressive library including but not limited to: Harry Potter, the DC Universe, The Lord of the Rings, Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and the rest of its film archive from its 102 years of making movies and television.
The deal will certainly be convenient to the many households who already have a Paramount Plus subscription, which also includes CBS sports, where the NFL, NCAA, NBA, NHL, and more national and international sports leagues air live every season. Subscribers will gain access to the entire HBO/Discovery+ content library, saturating Paramount +’s already dense lineup.
The deal, a $110 billion, $31 per share, all-cash buyout of WBD, was agreed to by shareholders of both companies on February the 27th, 2026. Despite that, the merger of the Hollywood titans is not without significant hurdles, as the deal must still secure regulatory clearances from agencies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and final approval from WBD shareholders in early spring 2026.
In addition, there has been reported backlash by government officials and employees of both companies. The deal has also come under scrutiny from media outlets, multiple attorneys general (like California’s Rob Bonta, who said he has spoken with fellow attorneys general on the matter), and members of Congress (Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, in particular) who have brought up concerns for potential breaches of antitrust laws. Some concerns critics have brought up include predictions for a drop in quality for consumers, as well as workforce reduction and a drop in wages for the industry. Market consolidation is a predominant concern, due to reduction of competition in the industry.
The controversy has been addressed by the owner, David Ellison, who said on a call with analysts and stakeholders last Monday, “We’ve been engaging with regulators around the world and the combination does not come close to hitting any of the metrics that would be problematic.”
Several mainstream news outlets have noted that David is the son of Larry Ellison, a prominent supporter of the Trump administration, and some have raised suspicion around the President’s involvement.
