Overview
- Warner Bros. Discovery accepted Paramount Skydance’s $31-per-share offer valued at about $110 billion after Netflix declined to top the bid.
- Paramount plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single streaming service, with executives citing more than 200 million current DTC subscribers that will shrink once overlapping accounts are removed.
- David Ellison committed to a theatrical-first model of at least 30 releases per year—15 from each studio—with a 45-day exclusive cinema window before streaming.
- The combined company is expected to carry roughly $79 billion in net debt; Fitch downgraded Paramount Skydance to BB+ and analysts and executives point to about $6 billion in planned cost reductions.
- Branding and leadership decisions remain pending, with HBO promised creative independence and no immediate cable divestitures, and U.S. and European approvals likely to take months through the rest of the year.