Perhaps Netflix and HBO could have been a combination for the ages, or the quality of the latter might slowly erode under the cost-sensitive oversight of the former. We will never know.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery finally gets a package of cash, sweeteners, more cash from David Ellison, and more than a little groveling. The David Zaslav-led company has officially recognized Paramount Skydance’s latest bid as “superior” to Netflix’s, which it accepted in December. Netflix has removed itself from the competition.
Although it’s not a done deal — there are still quite a few regulatory hurdles to clear, local, state and federal — Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery (unofficially, but frustratingly) now has a more or less open path to try its unified hand at controlling Hollywood.
The crown jewels of the combined companies are the legacy film studios, with Paramount founded in 1912 and Warner Bros. in 1923, but each has a large television footprint as well. HBO is from Warner Bros. Discovery is a pinnacle of status for the small screen, and Paramount’s CBS broadcast network still has some life left in it — especially with the NFL, March Madness and major golf events (not to be confused with Topgolf events, which are less important) still on its schedule. Plus, Paramount+ just signed a giant UFC deal, and on the complete opposite end of the fandom spectrum (hopefully), it’s home to Paw patrol And other major children’s programs.
Outside of Taylor Sheridan’s direction, which will finally end here with the mega-creator’s blockbuster move to NBCUniversal, Paramount+ leaves a little to be desired in terms of original series for adults. South Parksuch as platform reruns of CBS shows, can be consumed using a traditional cable package. Paramount+ is a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
Still, HBO isn’t (just) TV, it’s HBO. Any company in the industry would be more than happy to have you as its new owner industryalthough this will soon end, and is expanding game of thrones universe. trance and Hacks It’s also on its way out, but no brand has tackled reinvention like HBO. The lower-brow fare on HBO Max is hit-and-miss, but if Gray’s Anatomy You have taught us what that is the house It may still be churning out new seasons a generation from now.
In November, I asked HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys if he had concerns about the HBO brand — and employees — under Paramount.
“I had a town hall meeting a few weeks ago, and I said the one thing you can do in this process, the best thing you can do, is just focus on your job, which is creating the most impactful programming in whatever genre it is,” Bloys said. THR. “It’s kind of a waste of energy, because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Well, we do now.
“Now, having said that, obviously I’m very proud of what we’ve done at HBO and HBO Max. I’d like to see that continue,” Bloys continued. “We’ve all been at HBO for a long time. I’m proud of our track record, but you have to go into these operations with an open mind. A lot of it is out of our hands.”
Merging HBO and HBO Max into Paramount+ would be as stupid as dropping “HBO” from “HBO Max,” and no one would ever do that — oh, right.
Netflix wanted to finally dethrone and acquire its biggest competitor – the competitor that Netflix had become famous for becoming before HBO became Netflix. But Netflix wasn’t interested in the Discovery spinoff from Warner Bros. Discovery. It planned to let WBD split itself in two, taking the Warner Bros. portion. (HBO, streaming and studios) and leaving the Discovery piece (global linear networks and Discovery+). A company spokesperson confirmed that Split and Spin are officially dead Hollywood Reporter.
Paramount wanted the whole damn thing; They are very different businesses. Discovery’s cable channels and Paramount’s “Viacom” networks as they’re colloquially called are actually quite compatible, though that doesn’t mean you’d necessarily want any of them (let alone all of them) as distribution platforms — at least not for much longer. (The best cable channels still provide free cash flow, and combining packages buys a few extra years of leverage in carriage disputes.)
Discovery’s and Paramount’s programming pairs well with the ad-supported streaming service, as do the popular entry tiers of Paramount+ and Discovery+, and even better for Paramount’s Pluto TV FAST service. Someone with knowledge of Pluto’s inner plans said not long ago THR Although the service has been on the sales floor for years — though it’s had struggles recently — an injection of HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel and TLC programming could be the revival Pluto needs. Chow down endlessly House hunters Aside from the all-you-can-stream buffet Sarcasm.
Even though they did everything they could to kill it off, Showtime still exists under the Paramount umbrella. HBO and Showtime used to compete as premium cable’s top two shows, but those days are long gone. Instead of trying to revive internal competition, the acquisition seems like the right opportunity to put Showtime entirely to bed and simply inject its programming into the libraries of HBO and HBO Max. And if you want to wait up Yellow vests Buzz off and Dexter: Resurrection He buries himself, so be it.
CNN and CBS News are a scary combination. CBS News is in the middle of a revamp that is not instilling confidence in the journalism community right now. The only thing CNN has left out is reputation (yes, leaning Leave (The direction CBS News is moving away from in Barry Weiss). But the implications of television news here are another story; Read this one here.
Under the terms of its proposal, Paramount Skydance would also end WBD’s Turner Entertainment channels: TNT, TBS, truTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang. (Insert HLN either here or with CNN, agent’s choice.) Of this batch, only Adult Swim has originals. The Discovery Networks — Food, HGTV, Magnolia, TLC, ID, OWN, and Discovery Channel itself — have more robust pipelines.
Turner recently lost to the NBA, which contributed about half of the 9 percent drop in ad sales in the fourth quarter of 2025. He has All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which would have failed if HBO Max had been under Netflix, the home of WWE. Raw And the international destination for Premier Wrestling’s premium live events (ESPN has PLEs here). Instead of the NBA, TNT Sports has packed the airwaves with new deals for NASCAR, the French Open, Big 12 football and men’s basketball, Big East men’s basketball and about half of the college football playoffs. A combination of TNT and CBS brings every March Madness game to one home court.
Paramount Pictures and TCM (Turner Classic Movies) are a match made in Movie Heaven, as opposed to pairing with Warner Bros. Pictures. First as part of WarnerMedia (under AT&T, which was certainly a match made elsewhere).
Television studios are studios, and studios are the driving force in Hollywood. To cover the $110 billion price tag here, PSWBD would have to license a lot of software — and ironically, the biggest buyer would likely be Netflix, which is getting $2.8 billion from Warner Bros. (via Paramount) for losing her deal.
