All posts tagged: ParamountWarner

What a combined Paramount-Warner would mean for streaming, news and film

What a combined Paramount-Warner would mean for streaming, news and film

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter HBO Max, “Harry Potter,” and CNN could soon find themselves under the ownership of Paramount, following a significant vote by Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. On Thursday, shareholders approved the sale of the entire business to the company that owns CBS and blockbusters like “Top Gun.” Based on preliminary counts, Warner shareholders agreed to the proposed $81 billion buyout, valued at nearly $111 billion including debt, based on Warner’s current outstanding shares. While the transaction still requires regulatory review, this potential megamerger stands to profoundly reshape Hollywood and the broader media landscape, further concentrating power within an industry already dominated by a few major players. Paramount itself was acquired by Skydance just last year. Here’s a look at what a Paramount-Warner combination could mean for streaming, movies, news, and more. Streaming Paramount Skydance would gain control of both Paramount+ and, with the …

DOJ Must Stop Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger

DOJ Must Stop Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger

Published by Daniella Wilson

Leadership of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is calling on the Department of Justice to block the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. unless worker protections are put in place. Union leaders announced on Thursday that they had filed a report outlining key concerns about the $111 billion mega-transaction with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and that they are pushing for the transaction to be blocked unless their concerns are addressed. The union’s input is especially consequential because Teamster general president Sean O’Brien is a labor ally of President Donald Trump and previously played a role in the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor secretary. “This merger threatens the livelihoods of the very workers who built these studios into industry giants,” O’Brien said in a statement. “We’ve seen what happens when corporations consolidate power: jobs disappear, production leaves American communities, and workers pay the price. The DOJ has a responsibility to stop deals that eliminate competition and harm working families. Unless Paramount and Warner Bros. can guarantee enforceable protections for domestic production and labor standards, this merger …

Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal stirs fears of mass layoffs

Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal stirs fears of mass layoffs

Published by Sam Flores

Four days after the stunning news that Paramount Skydance would acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount executives tried to calm fears that the blockbuster deal would result in massive layoffs. In a call Monday, Paramount Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer Andy Gordon told Wall Street analysts that $6 billion in merger “synergies” would come from “non-labor sources” and not a “reduction in production capacity.” Instead, Gordon said, the company would reduce costs by consolidating its streaming technology and cloud providers, finding marketing efficiencies and “optimizing the combined real estate footprint,” likely an allusion to widely anticipated plans that the new owners will consolidate operations around the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. Efficiencies aside, most Hollywood observers — including people who are familiar with Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison’s plans — predict that Paramount will be forced to make large-scale layoffs in order to offset the enormous costs of the mega-deal, which is valued at more than $111 billion (counting debt). It’s a reasonable expectation, at least if history is any guide. Many at …

EU Antitrust Review May Delay Paramount-Warner Merger

EU Antitrust Review May Delay Paramount-Warner Merger

Published by Daniella Wilson

Washington appears ready to rubber-stamp David Ellison’s proposed $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. But while the deal may (despite a brewing challenge from California) sail through the U.S. it could encounter a slower, more complicated review across the Atlantic — one that is more likely to delay the transaction than derail it outright. Anticipating that scrutiny, Ellison went on a European charm offensive in January, meeting with political leaders and key entertainment figures in France, Germany and the U.K. — including French President Emmanuel Macron — to lobby for the deal and win over regulators who could potentially delay or derail the merger. Once U.S. regulators complete their review, European Union and U.K. antitrust authorities will take their turn examining the historic studio tie-up. Brussels has broad authority to investigate the competitive impact of a Paramount-Warner merger across cinema distribution, cable TV and streaming markets in all 27 member states. This is not simply a studio deal. It is a studio-to-studio merger layered on top of networks and competing subscription streaming …

Clinton deposition; Paramount-Warner Bros.; Trump : NPR

Clinton deposition; Paramount-Warner Bros.; Trump : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today’s top stories Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified for more than six hours yesterday in a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee. The Republican-led committee subpoenaed Hillary and former President Bill Clinton for their investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Hillary Clinton has denied knowing Epstein and repeated that denial to the committee. The Clintons initially resisted the subpoena, but agreed to be questioned after the committee threatened contempt of Congress. Bill Clinton, who appeared multiple times in the Epstein files, is set to answer questions today. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, after testifying before House lawmakers as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein Thursday in Chappaqua, N.Y. Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption toggle caption Yuki Iwamura/AP 🎧 Hillary Clinton said her husband is likely to discuss …

The “Paramount-Warner Bros. Corporation” Nearly Happened

The “Paramount-Warner Bros. Corporation” Nearly Happened

Published by Daniella Wilson

“Prosperity is back,” beamed Paramount chairman Adolph Zukor in 1922, noting that the previous year nearly dealt a “mortal blow” to motion pictures. The industry had weathered a storm of growing public suspicion over sordid details coming from the entertainment industry in the wake of producer William Desmond Taylor’s murder and the rape/murder trials and acquittal of comedian Fatty Arbuckle. To ensure future confidence in motion pictures, Zukor helped bring in a self-censoring body to keep the concerned government and public happy. Paramount was coming out of a period of growth. With David Ellison ramping up what may be an ugly battle to force a sale of Warner Bros. to Paramount, the move mirrors Hollywood a century ago when it was also in a period of change amid technological innovation. In the 1920s, Paramount pushed unsolicited offers for the newly incorporated Warner Bros. while Warners pushed back. Zukor streamlined the star system, brought in Postmaster General Will Hays to head up the self-censorship office and set the bar for rapid expansion in Hollywood. On paper, Paramount had every advantage …