Warner Bros Discovery is set to sell its entire operation, including its cable networks and movie studio, the report said. The company revealed late last year that it intended to reorganise into two separate divisions, one focused on its traditional cable TV business and the other on streaming and studios.
Skydance is run by David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison. The major bid comes weeks after Skydance bought Paramount Global for $8.4 billion. This deal is expected to bring some of the best-known entertainment brands under a single corporate entity, including DC Comics superheroes such as Superman and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, science-fiction franchises like The Matrix and Star Trek, and news networks CBS News and CNN.
Stock market reacts
The shares of Warner Bros Discovery rose as much as 30 per cent after the publication of the report, while Paramount shares jumped 15 per cent, Reuters reported.
Both Paramount and Warner Bros have not officially commented on the development. Livemint could not independently verify the report.
Warner Bros Discovery is reorganising its media business, separating its struggling cable TV business from its studio and streaming operations. Meanwhile, Skydance is reportedly trying to buy all of Warner Bros Discovery’s media assets, including Warner Bros film studio, HBO, and CNN, in a largely cash deal, according to the WSJ.
If the deal is successful, it would bring together two of Hollywood’s most renowned studios, along with streaming services HBO Max and Paramount.
The potential bid highlights rising competition in the media industry as traditional companies race to expand their scale and strengthen their streaming platforms amidst declining TV viewership and advertising revenue. They face increased rivalry from well-funded technology giants Apple and Amazon.com, which provide online streaming services.
Regulatory concerns
Combining the two major media giants would reduce Hollywood’s major legacy studios to just four, bringing together some of the biggest names in news, film, and TV, which may attract regulatory attention.
“I don’t know if the government will allow this,” Raymond Sfeir, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange, California told Bloomberg News. “It’s already a very concentrated industry to start with, and now you’ll have even more concentration. There will be less competition for streaming. When there is less competition, prices will increase over time,” Sfeir added.
