Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) inventory has spiked near 50% in simply two buying and selling days after a Wall Road Journal report mentioned Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is making ready a majority-cash bid for the media conglomerate — a possible transfer that would set off a Hollywood bidding conflict and reshape the worldwide streaming panorama.
The David Ellison-backed firm, which simply closed on its takeover of Paramount final month, is reportedly eyeing all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s property, which embody recognizable and high-profile properties from HBO and CNN to the Warner Bros. studio lot.
Paramount Skydance didn’t instantly reply to Yahoo Finance’s request for remark. Warner Bros. Discovery declined to remark.
Whereas no formal supply has been submitted and talks might nonetheless collapse, analysts say the mixture would immediately elevate Paramount Skydance’s scale in streaming and promoting, whereas forcing rivals from Disney (DIS) to Amazon (AMZN) to reassess their aggressive playbooks.
“This makes tons of each strategic and financial sense,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior media analyst Geetha Ranganathan advised Yahoo Finance on Friday. “Each Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are comparatively sub-scale gamers in streaming. Put them collectively and also you’re speaking about 200 million subscribers, a high 5 international participant.”
Netflix (NFLX) has greater than 300 million international subscribers, whereas Disney+ and Hulu collectively reported 183 million on the finish of their newest quarter, which ended June 28, 2025. Paramount+ has roughly 75 million subscribers, and HBO Max has about 125 million. Put collectively, that offers Ellison’s enterprise round 200 million subscribers — sufficient to rank among the many high international streaming gamers.
Past scale, the mixed firm would additionally generate roughly $20 billion in TV promoting income, with analysts estimating $3 billion to $5 billion in annual merger synergies.
However Paramount will not be the one bidder. Comcast (CMCSA), Apple (AAPL), Amazon, Netflix, and Sony (SONY) have all been floated as potential suitors, although analysts warning that almost all could also be reluctant to soak up WBD’s shrinking cable portfolio. Nonetheless, the uncommon likelihood to safe Warner Bros. Discovery’s crown-jewel franchises might show too tempting to cross up.
“This totally raises the stakes for everyone,” Ranganathan mentioned. “With Warner Bros., you get top-tier manufacturers like DC Comics, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. On the TV facet, they’ve probably the greatest manufacturing homes and among the most premium properties on HBO Max.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime alternative for Paramount or some other bidder,” she added. “It makes a really formidable competitor — and it weakens everybody else’s hand. That form of leads us to assume we might doubtlessly have a bidding conflict on our palms.”
