According to Axios, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday in New York to discuss a possible merger. Zaslav also discussed the deal with Shari Redstone, who owns Paramount’s parent company. Negotiations between WBD and Paramount are still in the early stages and may not ultimately result in a deal.
The meeting between Zaslav and Bakish, which lasted several hours, took place at the headquarters of Paramount in Times Square. The parties discussed how their companies can complement each other. For example, each company’s main streaming service, Paramount+ and Max, could merge to better compete with Netflix and Disney+.
It is unclear whether WBD will acquire Paramount Global or its parent company, National Amusements Inc. (NAI), but a source familiar with the situation said both options were being considered.
The following are among the possible consequences of the agreement:
- Mutual distribution of WBD and Paramount franchises
- Merger of CBS News and CNN to create a global news hub
- CBS crime franchises like NCIS and Criminal Minds could land on Investigation Discovery and TruTV
- CBS Sports and WBD broadcast rights combined
As of Wednesday, WBD’s market value was about $29 billion, and Paramount’s was just over $10 billion, so the merger would not be equal. Paramount is under huge debt pressure and is looking for a strategic partner or buyer.
