Warner Bros. Discovery is turning away from a possible merger with Paramount Global.
CNBC reported that merger discussions took place in January, following the December meeting between Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish. However, those discussions have now cooled with Paramount looking instead towards a sale to Skydance Media, the film and TV studio run by David Ellison, which continues to undertake due diligence on a potential transaction.
While NBCUniversal isn’t interesting in acquiring Paramount Global’s assets there is room for a comercial arrangement. This could take the form of a merger of the two streaming services, Peacock and Paramount+, or a bundling arrangement between the two. Any arrangement is likely to hinge on the outcome of the Skydance talks.
Paramount is due to report its 2023 financials later on Wednesday.
