Two Media Giants Start Merger Talks

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have begun talking about merging, a deal that would put the rivals' streaming operations and film studios—as well as TV networks CBS and CNN—under the same corporate roof. The media companies' CEOs, David Zaslav of Warner Bros. and Bob Bakish of Paramount, met Tuesday, CNBC reports. Spokespeople for both would not release possible terms or otherwise comment on the talks, except to say they're preliminary and may lead nowhere. Shari Redstone, who owns controlling shares of Paramount, is looking to sell her interest or otherwise find a deal, per Variety.

Both companies are making cuts to trim debt. Warner Bros. Discovery was formed by a merger in April 2022, per CNN, and CBS and Viacom were combined to make Paramount Global in December 2019. The Wall Street Journal reported this month that Paramount is considering laying off more than 1,000 employees early in 2024. A merger would combine the Max and Paramount+ premium streaming services, theoretically providing efficiencies to better compete with Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu. (More mergers and acquisitions stories.)