Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global in Merger Talks
Embattled Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount World CEO Bob Bakish in New York Metropolis on Tuesday (December nineteenth) to debate a possible merger, as first reported by Axios.
The assembly reportedly occurred at Paramount’s Occasions Sq. headquarters, the place the duo spoke about how the businesses may very well be a great match for one another. As a first-rate instance, merging their respective streaming providers — Max and Paramount+ — would create a formidable competitor to Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video.
It’s at the moment unknown whether or not WBD would purchase Paramount World or vice versa, however Axios studies that “each choices are on the desk” and WBD has already employed bankers to look into the deal.
In line with Axios, Zaslav has additionally spoken with Shari Redstone, an proprietor of Paramount’s mother or father firm Nationwide Amusements, a couple of doable deal.
Zaslav’s tenure as the pinnacle of Warner Bros. Discovery has actually been eventful. Since Summer season 2022, he has famously canceled an already-finished Batgirl film, shelved Sport of Thrones spinoffs, and yanked titles from the streaming service previously often called HBO Max — solely to later open up licensing of HBO originals to opponents comparable to Netflix.
In the meantime, Paramount+ formally merged with Showtime earlier this yr.