Power Players: Can the Paramount–Warner merger survive?
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So the company that brought us this... Did you ever make anything happen?
What is the Paramount–Warner merger and why is it proposed?
Anything you couldn't explain? You're a wizard, Harry. And the company that gave us this... Good morning, aviators.
This is your captain speaking.
are trying to become one. Paramount and Warner Brothers, two of Hollywood's most powerful players, are pushing for a $110 billion merger that would see them become one super studio. Executives say it's the only way to survive the streaming wars, but now 12 attorneys general, regulators around the world and a whole host of creators are saying no deal. So today we're asking how does Paramount and its ambitious chief executive, David Ellison, make their dream deal a reality? And what does the hold up, the row and any future resolution mean for all of us when it comes to what's on our screens, big, small and handheld?
Yes, that's today's episode of Power Players from Business Daily. I'm Will Bain here in the UK.
I'm Michelle Flurry here in New York.
And with Rahul Tandon still endangering sunbathing snakes on the golf courses of Greater Calcutta, we've drafted in this week, Michelle, after you dissed our accountancy chops last week on the podcast, we've drafted in some Hollywood glamour this week, some expertise. Dawn Chmielewski, entertainment business correspondent for Reuters, joining us from, for now at least, Dawn, the cinema capital of the world in LA. Thanks for being with us.
Thank you.
I was trying to think of a more original film, perhaps comp for what's going on in terms of your working life at the moment. But are you Bill Murray and Grand Hog Day here at the moment?
It does that. That is an apt that is an apt. description, it seems as though Paramount has been at the center of every media deal over the last two years.
So here we are again. This has been going on since September, this particular Will They, Won't They with Warner Brothers as well. What's the mood in Hollywood that this is kind of turning into Groundhog Day?
There was a feeling perhaps even a week ago that this deal was inevitable. Paramount had gained approval's around the world. The U.S. Justice Department gave it a thumbs up, and it seemed as though it was cruising toward a deal closed by the end of potentially even July, right? But California and other states, attorneys general, had other plans, as you described at the time.
Yeah, Michelle, to stretch our film kind of analogies to absolute breaking point, that sort of piece in Lord of the Rings, thou shalt not pass. That's basically been this week from these 12 top legal officers across the stage. Why don't you round us up on what happened, what their decision was?
Yeah, from blockbuster to will this be a flop? I think that's the key question. And you've got these 12 state attorneys general coming in here. And I was going through the legal document, picking out some of the lines that they've kind of put in their lawsuit. And they're saying this merger combines two of the nation's five major film distributors and it will give them 85 percent control. They say that for every dollar generated by wide release theatrical films and basic cable channels in this country, the combined company will pocket more than a quarter. So, you know, it's about competition. They're saying this will have a huge impact on it.
Well, shall we hear from one of them? Because Rob Bonta, who's been leading this sort of coalition, if you like, of attorneys general across the United States, he's the attorney general for California. And he spoke to Gideon Long and the team on World Business Report a little earlier this week.
Well, you have two major, highly diversified companies trying to engage in a $110 billion merger. That would be the largest deal of its kind in the history of Hollywood.
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