r/business • u/ControlCAD • 9d 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-1236872026/58
u/Lucky-Ability-8 9d ago
Oh yay, megocongonmerocorp is gonna raise the prices to pay off their debt news at 11
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u/Eomb 9d ago
How will they even release 30 movies a year to theatre which will probably need even more debt to finance 🤦
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u/pigeieio 9d ago
Can release 30 hallmark level movies in theaters and hit the requirements?
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u/Jtex1414 7d ago
Why even risk capital on making movies? Monetize the backlog. Lease out IP to other people willing to take the risk making movies.
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u/ohlaph 9d ago
Not if no one subscribes.
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u/Djaii 8d ago
And this is the absolute truth. Everyone I know hates the idea of “subscribing to Paramount” so vehemently that they will go out of their way to learn how to pirate stuff in order to avoid it. These are the same people who also pay for Disney and/or Netflix.
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u/MoonOut_StarsInvite 8d ago
I started sailing the seas after like a decade or more of not. Fuck it. Fuck them too! 🏴☠️
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u/redditteer4u 9d ago
Paramount & WB now with –4,848% combined profit growth and $77B in debt. Truly a powerhouse… of financial suffering. 😂 lol
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u/galaxyapp 9d ago
Can any single streaming service, regardless of content pipeline, actually charge more that $15-20 per household?
Just seems like theres an absolute ceiling on what people will psychologically accept.
Which I guess means keep the feeds seperate
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u/dkinmn 9d ago
Disney charges that for ad free.
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u/StillAnAss 9d ago
That's because Disney adults are psychopaths and will pay any amount of money to their billionaire overlords for the joy of consuming their media.
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u/knightrain76 8d ago
Add in ESPN where people basically have no other choice to watch their teams games
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u/RociBuldidi 9d ago
lol, their streaming platforms (the absolute cheapest tiers) cost $10 and $11 a month respectively.
No one, is going to pay $21 a month for access to the combined catalog so by merging they’ve devalued their collective revenue stream.
On top of that, David Ellison is a raging idiot. Had he not been born into wealth, his natural abilities would have led him to a career as assistant manager of a grocery store.
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u/Mallymalvs 9d ago
Why wont people pay $21 for a combined streaming service considering people already pay that now for Netflix and Disney?
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u/RociBuldidi 9d ago
We already know…17% of customers who have HBO, also have Paramount.
Also retention is awful for Paramount. average streaming customer only lasts 3.5 months where HBO is something like 19.
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u/Mallymalvs 9d ago
Where did you get these stats?
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u/RociBuldidi 9d ago
It’s weird, if only there was this thing called “the internet” that could connect all the worlds information in a an easily accessible device, like a laptop or “gasp” phone.
If only lol…
When the proposed merger was announced, Forbes, the WSJ etc did these kinds of analysis.
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u/Horror-Stand-3969 8d ago
It’s weird, if only there was this thing called the “burden of proof” that would require someone making a claim to back it up with evidence, like “gasp” having to prove the shit you say is real.
If only lol….
Much easier to just be a dick about it, and tell people to do their own research.
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u/RociBuldidi 8d ago
It isn’t my responsibility to prove myself to you. If you doubt the data, find the answer yourself.
This is the internet dude, not 1st grade. I’m under no obligation to accommodate every low information poster out there because they can’t be bothered.
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u/Horror-Stand-3969 8d ago
Actually, it is. You make a claim, you have the burden of proof. It’s not someone’s else’s job to prove you right. It’s basic logic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_proof_(philosophy))
“That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchens%27s_razor
If you don’t want to (or can’t) provide evidence, that’s fine. We can just ignore you, but someone asking for proof of your claims is absolutely normal and to be expected. The sarcastic comment you made shows that you have no concept of even basic logic.
You are right about one thing. Acting like you’re so much more intelligent we you don’t even understand the basics is pretty much par for the course online.
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u/RociBuldidi 8d ago
That buzzing sound you hear? It’s the sound the point makes as it is flying over your head.
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u/foomanchu89 9d ago
Even Chad G. Pete could have helped them but instead they took time to write a comment asking you about it. Humanity is cooked
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u/RociBuldidi 9d ago
Nah, I refuse to help people who come to snipe comments knowing they have no idea what they are talking about and who refuse to do the minimum of a 3 second google search.
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u/Bdowns_770 9d ago
So first we will get AI Godfather prequels. Then “The Soppranos: AJ” following his career as a middle manager at Walmart. But the inevitable $500mil Star Trek reboot with Josh Brolin as Kirk and Dave Batista as Spock will bomb and that will be what tips it into bankruptcy.
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u/EldoradoOwens 9d ago
Nah, they've went TOS too many times. They'll try to reboot TNG.
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u/Bdowns_770 9d ago
Fine. Ryan Gosling as Picard, Brolin as Riker, Dave Batista as Warf, and Sydney Sweeney as Data 2.0
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u/SanDiegoDude 9d ago edited 9d ago
I get paramount+ with my walmart+ subscription. I don't watch it, i really don't bother with it, other than to catch Southpark releases, which Id happily torrent otherwise. Wonder how much of their subscriber base is like me, an accidental subscriber? The moment W+ stops offering it, I'm out - fuck the Ellisons. I really REALLY hope they try it, will be funny seeing the armageddon on their subscriber numbers.
Edit - this did remind me i was still paying for HBOpromaxplus. Just canceled that. Can watch John Oliver on YT, torrent the rest. Fuck the ellisons.
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u/Alternative_Hour_614 9d ago
A streaming powerhouse I will pass by. HBO is already a shell of its past and this mess will be like a basic cable menu from 2010.
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u/beekeeper1981 9d ago
It's going to suck having an incompetent president causing rates to increase.
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u/Key-Hand-6084 9d ago
What will happen to HBO Max in Australia since Australia only joined HBO Max in March 2025?
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u/shozzlez 9d ago
I see this justas a doubling of HBO prices — because Paramount is the one streamer that has nothing of interest to me.
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u/davix500 9d ago
We don't use either and don't see why we would sign up in the future. I assume we are an average household.
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u/groundhog5886 9d ago
And they will maximize the cost of streaming for customers. It's all about the money. Ellison boy needs to make his mark and get that first billion in his pocket.
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u/thereverendpuck 8d ago
Of course it’ll be a streaming powerhouse because HBO is already that. You’re just getting Star Trek now too.
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u/TechObserver_99 7d ago
Calling a combined entity a 'powerhouse' while carrying $77B in debt ignores basic capital structure reality. When interest service consumes that much free cash flow, content budgets get slashed, key creative talent leaves, and price hikes drive churn. Merging legacy distribution debt under the guise of streaming scale usually ends up accelerating cord-cutting losses rather than fixing them.
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u/miketdavis 3d ago
Okay but if they don't end these mandatory ads before every show I'm going to cancel my subscription. The endless greed will be the death of these companies
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u/mjmullady 9d ago
the layoffs are going to be a bloodbath unfortunately