Paramount CEO stokes rumours of Warner Bros Discovery takeover
David Ellison cannot comment on WBD takeover rumours - much...
The head of the newly merged Paramount Skydance has refused to deny his company is looking to buy Warner Bros Discovery, saying “you need more content to yield more engagement”.
David Ellison is chief executive officer of Paramount Skydance, which was formed in August, after Skydance Media — which Ellison co-founded in 2006 — bought Paramount’s parent company National Amusement in a deal worth A$13 billion.
The merged company has a market value of A$42.7 billion. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount was looking to buy Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that would bring Paramount, HBO, DC Comics, CNN, MTV, CBS, and numerous other networks and studios under the one roof. Due to WBD not owning any broadcast licences (which is different to owning TV networks, like CNN) the deal wouldn’t require FCC approval, which would speed up any potential merger.
This week, the New York Post reported that Paramount Skydance was in talks to team up with private equity firm Apollo Global Management — who Skydance outbid to buy out Paramount — to lob the bid at WBD. According to the Post, the buyout could cost north of US$60 billion (A$91.5b).
At Bloomberg’s Screentime event overnight, Ellison lent support to the reports during an on-stage interview with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw — while claiming to be doing the opposite.
“We’re a publicly traded company, so we’re not in a position to be able to comment on rumours or speculation of any kind,” Ellison said, after Shaw asked about the potential buy-out.
“I think, ironically, it was [Warner Bros Discovery chief] David Zaslav who said, last year, that consolidation in the media business is important,” he continued.
“The way we approach everything is, first and foremost, what’s good for the talent community, what’s good for our shareholders and value creation, and what’s good for, basically, storytelling at large.
“From our standpoint, whether we approach any acquisition — and I actually do think there are a lot of options out there in terms of what might be actionable in the near future — we would approach it through the lens of wanting to make more, not less.
“You need more content to yield more engagement.”
Ellison also shared his thoughts on OpenAI’s Sora 2, which threatens to upend Hollywood with its ability to create photo-realistic footage by scraping copyrighted material.
He said that “copyright basically needs to be protected on the output of those businesses” but hinted that Paramount would work with the AI companies, calling the technology “a tool for artists.”
“As an industry, we do need to embrace technology,” he said. “We’re gonna err on the side of basically partnering with that technology, to do it in a way that we think is good for artists.”
Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw interviewed Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison on Thursday
These sentiments echo the company vision outlined in an open letter Ellison wrote to Paramount shareholders, employees and creative partners in August, upon taking the reins of the company.
“We are in the midst of a generational change in our industry—and we understand Paramount has faced its own significant challenges, compounded by the reality of a merger process that stretched out over a considerable time period,” Ellison wrote.
“But that time of uncertainty is now behind us. Moving forward, we will work with conviction and optimism to transform Paramount into a tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley.
“By harnessing cutting-edge technologies to serve great storytelling, we will unlock the company’s enormous potential.”
Paramount Skydance is the owner of Australia’s Network 10.
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