Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global in Merger Talks

Embattled Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish in New York City on Tuesday (December 19th) to discuss a potential merger, as first reported by Axios.

The meeting reportedly occurred at Paramount’s Times Square headquarters, where the duo spoke about how the companies could be a good fit for each other. As a prime example, merging their respective streaming services — Max and Paramount+ — would create a formidable competitor to Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video.

It’s currently unknown whether WBD would buy Paramount Global or vice versa, but Axios reports that “both options are on the table” and WBD has already hired bankers to look into the deal.

According to Axios, Zaslav has also spoken with Shari Redstone, an owner of Paramount’s parent company National Amusements, about a possible deal.

Zaslav’s tenure as the head of Warner Bros. Discovery has certainly been eventful. Since Summer 2022, he has famously canceled an already-finished Batgirl film, shelved Game of Thrones spinoffs, and yanked titles from the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max — only to later open up licensing of HBO originals to competitors such as Netflix.

Meanwhile, Paramount+ formally merged with Showtime earlier this year.