Ryan Knudson

Discovery, for $72 billion.

Look, this has seismic effects on the entire entertainment landscape.

But Netflix isn't the only company that's been courting Warner.

Over the past few weeks, another massive entertainment company, Paramount Skydance, has also been in hot pursuit.

And this morning, it went public with a hostile counteroffer.

This morning, I got on a call with my colleague Joe Flint, who's been covering every twist and turn.

It's a heavyweight showdown between Netflix and Paramount over one of Hollywood's most storied companies.

And no matter what happens, the business of Hollywood is about to change.

I'm guessing you probably need to be on that call.

Should we just get back on the phone when this call is finished?

Exactly.

This is going to be one of the cliffhangers.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power.

I'm Ryan Knudson.

It's Monday, December 8th.

Coming up on the show, the showdown over Warner Brothers.

The company that's being acquired, Warner Bros.

Discovery, is itself the product of a giant merger just a few years ago.

In 2022, Discovery Networks, which owned a small streaming service and a bunch of cable channels, combined with Warner Media, which owned the Warner Bros.

movie studio and HBO.