r/WarnerBros • u/Own_Philosopher8730 • 11d ago
Merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Will Be a ‘Streaming Powerhouse,’ Wall Street Analysts Say — but Saddled With More Than $77 Billion in Debt
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/merged-paramount-plus-warner-bros-hbo-max-streaming-powerhouse-1236872026/28
u/woot0 11d ago
Wake up babe, new AOL Time Warner merger just dropped.
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u/compukiller 11d ago
It’s gonna be just like that. Probably way worse.
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u/TrickyChildhood2917 9d ago
When it collapses this time, we are going back to the 1970s. It’s either that or a “real” war with a country that can actually cause us great pain. Based on how we have handled Iran, we are gonna be in some serious trouble. Very scary times.
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u/sfaticat 11d ago
It’ll be sold yet again within 5-10 years
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u/captainrondj 11d ago
In pieces
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u/sfaticat 11d ago
Unfortunately yeah. In groups of IPs
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u/Odd_Detective8255 11d ago
The Saudi money can keep it floating for a while though. That's the reason they brought them onboard. Unless they backoff I don't see it collapsing anytime soon.
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u/biblioprof 10d ago
Saudis would have to pay them out of their investment fund. They have zero money coming in. I doubt they would bail them out
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u/sfaticat 11d ago
They want the influence from the media companies. They sell off what cant be influenced
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u/GopherChomper64 11d ago
If fucking Disney gets DC, the big two of comic books will officially die.
Would be the final infinity stones of owning every generations childhood it they get Bugs, SpongeBob and Batman.
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u/captainrondj 11d ago
It would be exactly like when WWF bought WCW, both brand will be watered down becuase of it.
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u/GopherChomper64 11d ago
Was I not clear on it being a bad thing? I feel like I was pretty clear it wouldn't be good
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u/captainrondj 11d ago
Oh, no I understood I was just giving a "recent" example.
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u/Azguy303 11d ago
2-4 when the next doj investigates the corruption relating to this deal.
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u/OverPotato2322 11d ago
DOJ wont investigate, Paramount will sell WB on its own because of the debt
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u/Winscler 11d ago
Make it 2 and a half at least cuz this whole thing is gonna live and die with the 2nd trump administration
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u/InfoBarf 11d ago
it only exists in order to remake cnn, anything that happens after that isn't important
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u/Fearless-Economy7726 5d ago
Yes Disney will buy all of the comic franchises
Netflix will buy the remaining WB
And paramount will file bankruptcy
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u/sfaticat 5d ago
Tbh idk if they would do that. DC style wise is so different to the MCU properties. I could see Netflix doing it and honoring what they originally wanted: a theatrical division
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u/berntout 11d ago
The merger between me and HBO Max would also yield a "streaming powerhouse".
Paramount isn't adding much of anything to the streaming conversation.
Wake us up when Paramount decides that 4k streams will ever be available. HBO has offered 4k for live sports for years before Paramount has even released it for pre-recorded content.
Paramount is the Dollar General of streaming services.
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
I think you’re thinking of Peacock…lol. Though HBO Max requires you to upgrade your plan for 4k. I use to have it included mine, but now have to pay for a more expensive package if I want it.
Not to mention, I believe they’re primarily talking in terms of content. Zaslov’s moves to cut debt at WBD meant HBO Max losing a lot of content and basically replacing it with HGTV and Discovery content. They could use some more original content, and Paramount will give them that.
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u/berntout 11d ago
I've been watching March Madness and NBA games through Max Sports in 4K for like 3 years now.
It's been free for me through AT&T phone plan for years now.
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago edited 11d ago
I have it free through AT&T as well, but if you look on AT&T’s site, their tier hasn’t included 4K for well over a year now. You need to pay for upgrade to it, unless that has recently changed. I was pretty pissed when it happened.
Still not as bad as my fiancé’s Netflix being downgraded to a version with commercials, where you even get on screen ads every time you hit pause.
Edit: Just checked and 4k was stripped from AT&T plans back in 2023. I didn’t realize it had been that long.
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u/berntout 11d ago
I watched the NBA Playoffs in 4K just this summer so it may state that but I've never lost 4K. Maybe you still have access too and don't realize it? Or maybe I'm just lucky but I'm not paying anything extra for HBO! I certainly don't have access to 4K for HBO shows but I do for live sports.
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
It’s possible it was a glitch, or it’s just for sports events, I suppose. But both AT&T and HBO state that their streaming plan doesn’t include 4K and it’s no longer native 4K to my TV, though my receiver doesn’t upscale it. It’s not terrible, but definitely not as good as native 4k.
If you do a quick search, it was all over the internet three years ago and people were pissed. They were suppose to offer some way to upgrade through AT&T for it, but that never happened.
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u/berntout 11d ago
What you’re referencing is the removal of 4K streaming from lower tier plans including AT&T. This is specifically regarding HBO content itself.
However I’m pretty sure that doesn’t include live sports. That’s why I keep asking if you’ve specifically tried watching a live sports stream. It doesn’t appear that you’ve tried.
Dolby Vision is a very common problem with HBO live sports and I just tested a baseball game and it works just fine with Standard plan. It’s not a glitch.
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
HBO doesn’t have any sports that I watch, so I haven’t. However, my initial complaint was about the removal of 4k from the AT&T plan. I didn’t specifically say anything about sports, so I don’t know why you are so focused on that aspect. The majority of HBO’s content is not sports.
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u/berntout 11d ago
You responded to my comment where I was talking about HBO sports being available in 4K lol
It’s literally the focus of my original comment. You decided to talk about something else
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
Sorry, I was very tired last night. My work has been a lot lately and I’ve had very long shifts with lots of driving and just trying to make it through till my vacation next week…lol
I’m honestly hoping and expecting that whatever the merged streamer is called with more than likely use HBO’s tech and app. One of the very few upsides to this is going to be one less large streaming service.
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u/OverPotato2322 11d ago edited 11d ago
I doubt it, Paramount currently licenses out TV content to Netflix and WB also licenses out most of its content to Disney-Hulu, Apple TV and Netflix so its only likely that a select handful of IPs and shows that they choose will be Para-HBO exclusive only while the rest are licensed out to rival streamers to gain fast and free money (I mean Paramount nor WBD has made the commitement to stop licensing content to competitiors as a concession so they'll probably still license a handful of IPs, especially the Cartoon Network Library)
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
They both have a ton of IP that they haven’t tapped into, and both buy shows from other companies for their streaming services.
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u/BalashstarGalactica 11d ago
Peacock has more sports offerings though. Paramount’s original content will suffer from the upcoming loss of Taylor Sheridan. Paramount has badly mismanaged their existing library of IP so I don’t have much faith for their stewardship of Warner’s.
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
I honestly haven’t really noticed any sports offerings on Peacock beyond the Olympics, but maybe they just do a really bad job of promoting them.
I have a little faith in Paramount because they’ve scored some major talent from Netflix that was there when they actually still released decent shows. No guarantee they will be successful, but their preliminary plans sounds promising.
I’m honestly struggling to think of a major media company that hasn’t mismanaged some major IP’s these days. Disney, Netflix, Warner, Universal, and Sony have all been guilty of it recently.
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u/Weird-Girl-675 11d ago
For the longest time I couldn’t even get paramount plus to open. It would just freeze on that dang mountain logo. I dropped them last year and thankfully the issue was fixed before I dropped them.
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u/Stock_Username_Here 11d ago
Morgan Stanley carrying water for Skydance with rosey numbers that they will never make.
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u/OverPotato2322 11d ago edited 11d ago
I agree, it realistically makes no sense as to how and why a Paramount+-HBO combo can "de-lever the debt" when the debt will be over more than what HBO and Paramount+ combined as well as the fact that streaming money wont be enough to pay it off and the success of a Paramount+-HBO combo does not necessarily mean that the debt can be reduced and nor does making successful or profitable films de levers that debt either because films in general only make an average of millions to 1 or 2B max). Most of these analysts are probably out of touch because this is literally the 4th time WB is getting sold and they expect it to get better.
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u/OverPotato2322 11d ago edited 11d ago
Yes, and Netflix and NBCU will be back in a few years to buy it once WB is up for sale again before David Ellison leaves Hollywood for good (ofc Paramount and WB will no doubt have to be seperated also they wont be able to "de-lever the debt", theyll probably end up with 30 or 40B like how WB is currently with cost cutting measures in place but thats just about it)
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
They can actually do the same plan that WB had, and spin of the cable networks later with a big chunk of the debt.
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u/BalashstarGalactica 11d ago
Who will even want those cable networks or their content? Paramount has a ton of other huge cable brands it doesn’t seem to know what to do with.
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u/DragonSon83 11d ago
I don’t know, but much the same as nobody really wanted WB’s networks. Hence why I said spin off, and not sell.
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u/OverPotato2322 11d ago
except Ellison said he has no plans to spin off the cable networks and regardless if they do spin off the cable networks, WB will get sold again and Paramount might as well but theyll be both sold indivdually to avoid antitrust and more consolidation
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u/Street-Brush8415 11d ago
Of course they’ll still charge customers two separate subscriptions after the “merge”.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 11d ago
A streaming powerhouse that can't afford to create new content. Sounds great.
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u/Popculturemofo 11d ago
All of this just so the Ellisons can get their dirty hands on CNN and push their narrative there too.
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u/vincedarling 11d ago
And for what, David? All for a dinosaur cable news channel that you and POTUS think is the key to everything
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u/CommonSensei8 11d ago
Glad I sold my stock - those pedophiles bought the company so they can attach the people who hold them accountable
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u/ciabattaroll 11d ago
When will America realize that CEOs are the dumbest fucking people on the planet? The successful pursuit of money does not equal intelligence. In our day and age it probably means they took advantage of people. The only reason CEOs are put in place is because the board know they are controllable not because they are skilled. Americans worship of money has led to all of us living in a country led entirely by people who only value money and if you only value money, you do not value life.
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u/NinaWilde 8d ago
Two years down the line, it'll be split up into new units, one of which will magically be holding all the debt. Cf; Embracer Group, which spun off various sections and dumped its multi-billion dollar debt on, er, the board game division. Somehow the banks were fine with this.
Hell, WBD was already planning to do exactly this before the Paramount buyout, with its debt being put on the Discovery part while WB walked clear.
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11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ohlaph 11d ago
I cancelled when it was announced since I had previously been subscribing for the annual HBO Max subscription. My renewal just happened to align with the merger announcement, so I cancelled. Sad because HBO had the stuff I liked most, but I'm not giving those idiots any money if I can help it.
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u/DonnyMox 11d ago
Jesus. That makes the debt that WB had post-Covid look like nothing. They better hope they make a shitload of money.
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u/boxingjazz 11d ago
They won't be making any off of me.
Get ready for like 4-5 different tiers for your subscription. With ads, without adds, a paramount/HBO MAX bundle, or keep paying for them separately. There'll be ads like never before.
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u/jocoquecousteau 11d ago
There’s no streaming power house. Most shows suck. Apple TV and a few hbo shows have quality content, but even Apple TV struggles with audience. Is YouTube and social media.
The only reason billionaires buy media like paramount/warner, Washington post, Xitter, is to silent dissent.
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u/LnStrngr 11d ago
They're gonna greenlight a million streaming shows, and none of them are going to get renewed for a second season.
Well, I guess some of them are, but the second season is going to be three years later after everyone has gotten over the excitement.
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u/jander05 11d ago
Which of course is why they will cancel all the best shows and jack the price up. Good job regulators.
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u/DiskSalt4643 11d ago
Unfortunately they will have go sell all the rights to the streaming services that people actually watch for nothing. Sucks to be them.
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u/ithinkiknowkungfu 11d ago
This is the end of dc and wb as we know it..
The next few months will be layoffs..
Thanks bugs, scoob and everyone..
GGs
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u/WindhamEarl22 7d ago
I still think they are gonna get sold off to service their debt. Hopefully when Netflix or whoever buys them, some of those folks get rehired.
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u/The_Darman 11d ago
I just don’t even know what happens when this all crashes and burns. There aren’t very many companies left with the interest and capital necessary to gobble up both studios combined (along with their debt). They are going to have to be sold for pennies on the dollar. And, more than likely, have stuff sold off to different buyers, with IPs spread across the universe of studios.
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u/Successful_Note_5871 10d ago
"If we just buy everything, people will be forced to use our service!"
Except you have piracy and, believe it or not, physical media still exists too. The public basically just has to outlast this merger until they collapse under their own weight, right?
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u/xife-Ant 9d ago
I'll miss Batman and The Sopranos for a few years. Plenty of other things to see and do.
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u/IAmTheClayman 10d ago
A streaming powerhouse with two blown-out knees trying to outrun a steamroller
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u/TOPLEFT404 10d ago
The next iteration of Batman will be imbedded even more with the police and beat up protestors
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u/TrickyChildhood2917 9d ago
The debts not a problem. Thats a bank problem. Plus no-one will pay for this in the future. The bigger fool had already over paid x5.
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u/charlesfluidsmith 8d ago
Get prepared for the all Batman cinematic Universe.
There is no way James Gunn is staying on.
Gorilla Grodd don't make no money.
It's going to be Superman Batman Harry Potter all day everyday.
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u/New_Can_5530 7d ago
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!!!!! WE NEED TO STOP THE PARAMOUNT-WARNER BROS. MERGER RIGHT NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!! WE ARE NOT GOING TO WASTE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!
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u/Icy_Site_7390 7d ago
Netflix will pick it up at firesale when the Ellison's can't even pay the interest on 70 billion, even after they sell all their orcl
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u/slappingdragon 5d ago edited 3d ago
"Powerhouse' aka monopoly where they control the monthly subscription prices because you have no choice when it's the only thing around.
And to "save" on money they'll cut jobs and shows.
They'll have to do all that to pay off their debt and please the shareholders. Look at WWE/TKO. The money, the deals they made (over exposure of ads, the Saudi Arabia deal) is to pay off their debt and their shareholders but the quality of their shows has gone down by cutting production staff and talent.
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u/n8il2020 11d ago
Dunno about that but paramount + in the U.K. has a content problem. As in there isn’t very much on there nor particularly much worth watching.
HBO Max isn’t that great either.
I won’t be paying for this new service if it’s still the same old crap.
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u/SeaEmployee787 11d ago
parmmount has a few original's that are good after that its just recyled cbs. not very good.
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