Paramount - Warner Bros. Discovery
The combined company will create a more resilient and diversified media company that is better positioned to compete with global technology and streaming platforms.
From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company. By bringing together these world-class studios, our complementary streaming platforms, and the extraordinary talent behind them, we will create even greater value for audiences, partners and shareholders — and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead."
David Ellison
Chairman and CEO of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation
More content
The transaction's growth strategy directly supports workers and the broader production economy. More films and series in production means more call sheets, more locations, more transportation, casting, catering, and other work across the industry.
Paramount Studios and Warner Bros. Studios will each produce a minimum of 15 high-quality feature films per year, for a total of at least 30 films annually across the group.
Greater choice
Both studios will continue to support a vibrant third-party ecosystem by licensing their films and shows across their own and third-party platforms, while remaining active buyers of content from third-party studios and independent producers.
The combined company will own a film library of more than 15,000 titles and thousands of hours of television programming. It will be home to many of the world’s most iconic and enduring franchises, including Harry Potter, Mission Impossible, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, The DC Universe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Star Trek, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Increased competition
The combined company will be more resilient, more diversified and better positioned to compete with global technology and streaming platforms, while supporting creators and distribution partners across the industry.
FULL-SPECTRUM
MARKETPLACE
A complementary portfolio of cable networks spanning entertainment, sports and news that will enable integrated cross-platform distribution, stronger cash flow and a more compelling cross-channel partner for advertisers.
Makan Delrahim
Chief Legal Officer, Paramount
There’s no element of this merger that is anti-competitive. Once you look at it, it’s incredibly pro-competitive. It increases output, it increases jobs, and it lowers the cost to the consumers. If you actually try to block this deal, you’re going to harm consumers, you’re going to harm creative talent, because you’re going to harm the creative ecosystem — the vision that David [Ellison] is trying to deploy here. It’s transformative from the efficiencies that it creates."
In the LA Times, June 1, 2026
OUR
PLEDGES
Full
Theatrical
Window
Every film will receive a full theatrical release, with a minimum 45-day window globally before becoming available on paid video-on-demand (PVOD), with the intention of 60-90 days or more to maximize the audience for our most successful releases.
HBO Runs
Independently
HBO will continue to operate independently as a studio, enabling it to create more of the world-class content it is renowned for.
30+ Films
Per Year
Paramount Studios and Warner Bros. Studios will each produce a minimum of 15 high-quality feature films per year, for a total of at least 30 films annually across the group – delivering great entertainment to audiences while supporting sustained job creation across the film and creative industries.
Continued
Licensing
Both studios will continue to support a vibrant third-party ecosystem by licensing films and shows across their own and third-party platforms, while remaining active buyers of content from third-party studios and independent producers.
Preserving
Home Video
Following its theatrical run, each film will transition to the current industry standard home video window, preserving paid video-on-demand prior to availability on subscription streaming services.
What Others
Are Saying
Bill Lockyer
Former California Attorney General
George Jepsen
Former Connecticut Attorney General
James Cameron
Filmmaker
Ike Brannon
Senior Fellow, The Jack Kemp Foundation
Omeed Assefi
Former Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DoJ Antitrust Division
Adam Aron
CEO, AMC
Rich Gelfond
CEO, IMAX
Sean Gamble
CEO, Cinemark
Tim Richards
Founder & CEO, Vue International
Peter Chernin
Chairman and CEO, The Chernin Group (TCG)
Richard Patry
President, National Federation of Cinema Exhibitors (FNCF)
Lord Black of Brentwood
Member, UK House of Lords
Ancora Holdings
American wealth management and advisory firm
Bill Lockyer
Former California Attorney General
"Combining two of the industry’s streaming players — HBO Max and Paramount+ — would result in a stronger competitor in the global marketplace with the ability to meaningfully invest in film and TV production and distribution for decades to come."
"Antitrust enforcement serves the public best when it follows evidence wherever it leads. So far, the evidence suggests this transaction passes that test."
In The Hollywood Reporter, June 1, 2026
George Jepsen
Former Connecticut Attorney General
“A combined Paramount-Warner Bros. could provide consumers with a compelling entertainment platform that competes with streaming giants Netflix, Disney and Amazon. Tech giants have entered the industry with capital, resources, existing subscriber bases and distribution networks that dwarf the scale of legacy studios. The merger can provide greater competition against these dominant streaming platforms and will result in downward pressure on costs for families who are already stretched thin.”
“The evidence here on market share, consumer pricing, worker output and competitive dynamics supports letting this transaction move forward. American consumers and families need more competition in streaming, not less. Based on the evidence, this merger delivers it, and the law supports letting it move forward.”
In The Wrap, June 19, 2026
James Cameron
Filmmaker
"I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies. And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows,"
"He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio […]"
In the AP, April 14, 2026
Ike Brannon
Senior Fellow, The Jack Kemp Foundation
"We found that the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger and the ancillary guarantees would result in substantially increased spending and investment in the film industry, which would create considerable economic benefits for communities and movie theaters across the country."
"The combined production and distribution effects of 30 annual films total over $20 billion in additional economic activity and the creation of over 90,000 jobs across the nation."
In Fortune, July 2, 2026
Omeed Assefi
Former Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DoJ Antitrust Division
“Ultimately, after eight months, we sat there, and there wasn't a single theory under the antitrust laws that we could use to justify prolonging the investigation any longer or predicating an enforcement action, and so that's why we cleared it.”
In Politico Pro, July 10, 2026
Adam Aron
CEO, AMC
"It is time for AMC to make known our favorable view about Paramount’s desire to acquire Warner [...] I greatly appreciate David Ellison’s track record of success and his passion to make movies that will dazzle audiences the world over. In just the short time he has owned Paramount Pictures, he already has begun to assemble a superb team around him and already has been increasing the number of movies being greenlit at Paramount."
In Variety, April 16, 2026
Rich Gelfond
CEO, IMAX
"[David Ellison is] 'adamant' about releasing 30 films a year...there are a number of films that [IMAX] is looking at doing with Paramount."
On Fox Business, March 9, 2026
Sean Gamble
CEO, Cinemark
"Both Paramount and Warner Bros. have been longstanding supporters of theatrical exhibition and great partners for Cinemark [...] Based on their actions over many, many years, that’s a real positive. There clearly has been a lean of those organizations to ramp up more into the space."
In The Hollywood Reporter, March 3, 2026
Tim Richards
Founder & CEO, Vue International
"David Ellison is a highly respected filmmaker through Skydance, with a long track record of releasing movies and supporting the industry. He has made both private and public commitments to release 15 movies a year before the Warner Brothers opportunity even came up."
"He has also said that if they are successful, they will guarantee the release of at least 30 movies a year. [...] And I think you have to weigh up who you really believe is going to be good for the industry."
On BBC Radio 4, January 26, 2026
Peter Chernin
Chairman and CEO, The Chernin Group (TCG)
"No one’s rooting for them more than me in the following sense that what the industry could use more than anything is another strong competitor."
On The Town podcast, May 29, 2026
David Geller from Seattle, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Richard Patry
President, National Federation of Cinema Exhibitors (FNCF)
"Paramount is an important player with a history. They know the French market. They’ve been present here for decades. [...] We have a letter from David Ellison, and that letter is reassuring. The commitments he makes are important commitments — and we welcome them."
In Variety, February 27, 2026
Lord Black of Brentwood
Member, UK House of Lords
"[A Paramount-WBD transaction is] good for British consumers, who will continue to benefit from choice in the streaming market, good for our world-class content creators and good for the British cinema industry, which is vital to our high streets."
In a debate in the House of Lords, March 2, 2026
© House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ancora Holdings
American wealth management and advisory firm
"[The Paramount deal is] a win-win for WBD shareholders and the industry."
In Deadline, February 26, 2026
Supporting a
competitive
entertainment ecosystem
Paramount continues to advance the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery merger with antitrust enforcers and other regulators around the world.
These approvals from regulators around the world reinforce what the facts have consistently shown: this transaction is pro-competition, pro-consumer, and pro-creative community. By bringing together complementary businesses, the merger will support greater investment in content, expand opportunities for creators and talent, increase the volume and diversity of programming, and deliver enhanced value and choice for consumers.
Paramount has received competition clearances in:
Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Kuwait, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, and the United States
Paramount has received foreign direct investment clearances in:
Australia, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
“[T]he Acquisition is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in relation to the wholesale supply of films for theatrical release in Australia.”
“The materials do not support the view that Paramount and Warner Brothers are particularly close competitors or that they compete more closely with each other than with the other major film studios.”
“[T]he merged entity is unlikely to have a sufficiently strong position in the supply of wholesale AV content to enable it to successfully foreclose rivals’ access to AV content.”
U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division
“The extensive investigatory record reviewed by the Division suggests that the impact of the transaction will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”
“These investigative efforts all led to the same conclusion: the film and television industry is highly dynamic, and the proposed transaction is not likely to harm competition or American consumer.”