What a combined Paramount-Warner would mean

NEW YORK (AP) HBO Max, Harry Potter and CNN may soon find themselves under a new roof: Paramount.

That's because shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday voted to sell the entire business to the company that owns CBS, along with blockbusters like Top Gun." Based on a preliminary count, Warner shareholders overwhelmingly agreed to the proposed $81 billion buyout valued at nearly $111 billion including debt, based on Warners current outstanding shares.

While the deal still faces regulatory review, the megamerger would vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape, further consolidating power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players. Paramount itself was acquired by Skydance just last year.

Here's what a Paramount-Warner combo could look like for streaming, movies, news and more.

Streaming

Paramount Skydance would own both Paramount+ and, with the sale approved by shareholders Thursday, Warner's HBO Max. Company executives have said that they would combine these streamers into one platform.

What that combined service would look like (or be named) is unclear. But Paramount CEO David Ellison suggested that HBO could still have some level of independence, at least production-wise.

Our view point is, HBO should stay HBO, Ellison said during a conference call last month. They built a phenomenal brand, they are a leader in this space and we just want them to continue doing more of it. But by bringing the platforms together, all of our content will be able to reach even a broader audience than we can do standalone.

Warner and its HBO streaming platform have a powerful lineup that includes The Pitt, Game of Thrones and Sex and the City." And beyond Harry Potter, Warner's library lists blockbuster films such as Sinners, Barbie and "Superman" (the company also owns DC Studios). Titles like Top Gun," "Titanic, The Godfather" and Yellowstone" fill Paramount's catalog.

In the U.S., according to streaming guide JustWatch, HBO Max controlled about 12% of on-demand subscriptions in the first quarter of this year compared to 3% for Paramount+. Combining those two services would still fall slightly below Prime Video's 17% market share, and the 19% of the market commanded by Netflix. Disney owns about 27% of the market between Hulu and Disney+.

Beyond HBO Max, Paramount would also acquire Warners smaller Discovery+ streamer. And apart from Paramount+, Paramount owns Pluto TV and BET+, too.

Critics are skeptical of consumer benefits touted by Paramount. While company executives have continued to laud larger content libraries and the potential for Paramount to better compete with bigger rivals, a combination with Warner Bros. would mean fewer platform choices when it comes to streaming overall. Critics warn that could actually mean higher prices at a time when the price of almost all subscriptions continues to tick higher.

Moviemaking and theatrical releases

Paramount and Warner Bros. are two of Hollywoods oldest studios. A merger would mean fewer companies control legacy film production.

Ellison has said he wants the combined company to grow a slate to more than 30 movies a year, keeping Paramount and Warner Bros. as stand-alone operations. And in a star-studded CinemaCon appearance last week, he promised a 45-day exclusive window for films in theaters, pledging a complete commitment to the industry.

Still, others are wary about what further consolidation could mean for jobs and which projects are greenlit down the road. Regulatory filings have indicated that the new ownership will be looking for ways to cut costs including layoffs and downsizing some overlapping operations. Paramount is taking on billions of dollars in debt to finance the deal.

Warner Bros. just had a banner year of both major blockbusters and critical successes. The studio racked up 30 Oscar nominations thanks to Sinners, Weapons, and One Battle After Another (which took home the top best picture slot). Paramount received zero. And in 2025, Warner Bros. movies including A Minecraft Movie, Superman and Sinners accounted for 21% of the domestic box office. Paramounts market share was only 6%, driven largely by Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning."

The industry has already experienced a sizeable consolidation. Almost 10 years ago, Hollywoods big six became the big five when Disney bought most of 20th Century Fox. And if the Warner sale goes through, a new big four era would be underway with a bigger Paramount standing alongside Disney, Universal and Sony.

News

CNN would come under the same roof as Paramount-owned CBS. That would bring together two of Americas biggest names in television news, although whether CNN would continue to operate as a separate brand from CBS has yet to be confirmed.

Regardless, there is a lot of anxiety about Paramount taking control of CNN a network that has long attracted ire from President Donald Trump and his allies. Critics point to Trumps close relationship with the Ellison family, particularly billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is putting up billions of dollars to back the bid by his sons company.

Since coming under Skydance ownership less than a year ago, CBS has already seen significant shifts in editorial leadership. It's taken steps to appeal to more conservative viewers in its news operations, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. If the companys proposed Warner takeover is successful, many expect similar changes at CNN.

Some officials in the Trump administration have also made their opinions very clear about CNN's future ownership. In March, the White House attacked CNN for its coverage of the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that "the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.

Ellison has said that editorial independence will absolutely be maintained under Paramount ownership. Its maintained at CBS. Itll be maintained at CNN, Ellison told CNBC's Squawk on the Street in March, while noting that his company wants to speak to the 70% of viewers who he said identify as center-left or center-right.

The acting head of the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust division has also said that its regulatory review will not be political. Still, critics are skeptical particularly following Skydance's acquisition of Paramount in August. That merger was approved by the Federal Communications Commission just weeks after the company agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at CBS' 60 Minutes program. The president has continued to publicly lash out at 60 Minutes programming since.

Other TV and cable networks

CNN is just one of the cable operations that Warner is selling. And the proposed merger would make Paramount's TV footprint even bigger.

The company also owns Discovery, TNT, TBS, Food Network, Cartoon Network and Animal Planet, among other networks all of which would come under Paramount ownership if the deal goes through. Meanwhile, Paramount already has its own sizeable broadcast lineup. Beyond CBS, that includes Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Showtime and more.