Author: Erik Gruenwedel

Paramount Boss David Ellison Says His Favorite HBO Show is ‘Game of Thrones’

The recently concluded $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery auction could be viewed by some as having elements of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” without the bloodshed, sex or fire-breathing dragons.

Media reports have suggested that the combined Paramount-WBD is now the newly united “Kingdom” attempting to defend its territory against the tech “invaders,” such as Apple, Amazon and Netflix.

Thus, it was perhaps no surprise that when asked what his favorite HBO show is, Paramount CEO David Ellison, who outlasted Netflix to acquire all WBD assets, including Warner Bros. Studios, HBO, HBO Max and Turner, would mention the George R. R. Martin, D. B. Weiss and David Benioff-created fantasy series,” which concluded its HBO run nearly seven years ago.

Some pundits predict a harsh environment among senior management in the coming months and year across both companies as Paramount decides which executives will “survive” the consolidation of two massive studio operations.

“It’s hard not to say ‘Game of Thrones,'” Ellison said on the March 2 special investor call.

The CEO also agreed that “Sopranos,” a story about a New Jersey mob boss who begins seeing a psychiatrist, was also among his favorites.

“Yes, that’s good too,” Ellison said. “There’s a lot … it’s a long list.”

Paramount Says $6 Billion in Expected Cost Synergies Acquiring WBD Will Not Include Layoffs or Content Production Reduction

Following the $110.9 billion enterprise value acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance is facing $79 billion in net debt upon closing of the massive media transaction.

To help cut that debt, Paramount is eyeing upwards of $6 billion in cost synergies over the first three years of the merger — cost cutting that will not include layoffs or a reduction in content production, according to chief strategy officer Andrew Gordon.

Paramount has pledged to release 15 theatrical titles this year, up from eight last year, which combined with 15 titles from Warner Bros. Pictures, would result in 30 box office movie releases going forward.

Speaking on the March 2 special investor call, Gordon said the operating cost reductions would come from consolidating streaming technology stacks, i.e., Paramount+, Pluto TV, Discovery+ and HBO Max, among others; expanding global business services and procurement efficiencies; re-evaluating both companies’ global real estate footprint and corporate overhead; improving spending on marketing, including agencies and related tools; and integrating Oracle’s (founded by Larry Ellison) “enterprise resource planning” software and other corporate IT systems.

“These are just few examples of where we believe we will find meaningful synergies as we unite these storied companies,” Gordon said.

CEO David Ellison said the combination of Paramount and WBD’s linear businesses, which include CBS, CNN and TNT, would also expect to boost cash flow, drive efficiencies and help manage market pressures.

The executive said he has no plans to spin-off the linear assets similar to what Comcast did with Versant, and what WBD had planned to do pre-merger with Discovery Global.

“The unified platform will offer advertisers more compelling and impactful opportunities, including in marquee U.S. and international sports leagues and events like the NFL, UFC and internationally, the home of the Olympics,” Ellison said.

Netflix to Stream Harry Styles Concert From Manchester, England on March 8

British singer, songwriter, actor Harry Styles is set to perform on Netflix on March 8 — Styles’ first live concert to appear on any streaming platform.

Styles is performing his fourth studio album — Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally — on March 6 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Netflix is streaming the concert at 12 p.m. PT, 3 p.m. ET, and 7 p.m. MT.

The concert show sets the tone for Styles’ upcoming global tour, Together, Together, which kicks off May 16 in support of Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The new album arrives nearly four years after Harry’s House won Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos: We Were Dealing With ‘Unusual, Irrational’ Competitor in WBD Sweepstakes

On the heels of Netflix declining to match Paramount Skydance’s $31-per-share all-cash ($110.9 billion equity value) bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says the decision to walk away was not a difficult one.

“We definitely wanted this asset; We didn’t need it,” Sarandos told Bloomberg News in an interview.

Paramount is now on the hook to pay WBD $76.9 billion in cash, in addition to assuming upwards of $79 billion in net debt, which includes $57.5 billion in new debt financing, $15 billion to refinance WBD’s existing debt load around $33 billion, and $3.5 billion in bridge financing.

Discovery acquired the former WarnerMedia from AT&T for $43 billion in 2022 to create Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount also paid Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee, in addition to guaranteeing a $7 billion termination fee to WBD, and a $650 million quarterly “ticking” fee should the deal not close by the Sept. 30 deadline.

The outsized fiscal size of the deal and Paramount’s relatively modest finances (outside the funds from Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, who is offering $45.7 billion in cash; $24 billion in Middle East sovereign wealth funds; and $54 billion bridge loan from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo Capital) surprised Sarandos.

“Unusual, yeah, unusual, irrational, whatever words you want to use in that,” Sarandos said.  “It’ll be fascinating to see the next steps.”

The executive believes that due to the fiscal levering of the deal, Paramount will fast-forward cost synergies and cuts involving at least $6 billion — which Sarandos believes will result in layoffs and a reduction of content production.

“We were in the books of Warner Bros., and the biggest cost centers are people in productions,” he said. “They are telling people who lend them the money that’s gonna happen in 18 months or so. It would be less production, less people working.”

Sarandos said Netflix’s involvement in the M&A deal involved dealing with 50 regulatory bodies around the world, in addition to the Justice Department and Congress in the United States.

“There are easier ways to make $2.8 billion,” Sarandos quipped.

When asked about Netflix shareholder’s apparent dislike for the WBD asset merger involving Warner Bros. Studios and HBO Max, Sarandos said short-term negative reaction on Wall Street is nothing new to the streamer.

Netflix’s stock price shot up 10% following its withdrawal, and was up 13.7% through midmorning trading on March 2.

“We’ve taken short-term hits for long-term gains in our business many times in our 20 years as a public company. And they worked out pretty well,” Sarandos said.

The executive has no idea if the Paramount deal will pass regulatory muster, adding that it should be scrutinized as much as Netflix was.

“It should be looked at with every bit of the same microscope,” Sarandos said. “Remember, we were asked to go and testify [before Congress]. David and I both were. I came.”

Regardless, Sarandos wishes Paramount well going forward, adding that Netflix will continue licensing content from both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

“I wish them luck,” he said. “They’ve got regulatory hurdles to clear. Even when we were thinking about keeping these businesses together and running, we knew that we had a difficult task ahead of integration. I can’t imagine doing all that and trying to cut billions and billions of dollars. Today, Paramount has half of the people that they had one year ago. So that gives you some sense of where this is heading for the town and for the business.”

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CEO David Ellison: Paramount+, HBO Max Combining Into One Streaming Platform With HBO Brand to Remain Separate

Paramount Skydance plans to combine the Paramount+ and HBO Max subscription streaming services into one platform upon closing of Paramount’s $76.9 billion ($110.9 billion enterprise value) merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Speaking on a special March 2 investor call, Paramount CEO David Ellison said he planned to allow the HBO brand, currently run by CEO Casey Bloys, to operate independently going forward creating content.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the two streaming services would connect, either with a separate Max tile on the Paramount platform, or something else.

“As we said, we do plan to put the two services together, which today gives us a little over 200 million direct to consumer subscribers,” Ellison said on the call. “We think that really positions us to compete with the leaders in the space.”

Ellison said he thinks that by June, Paramount will consolidate the services, including Discovery+ and Pluto TV, under a unified stack featuring more than 15,000 titles.

“To contextualize, [Paramount+ and HBO Max] is roughly the size of Disney, right? Obviously, competitive with Amazon, competitive with Netflix,” Ellison said. “So, we really do think that, that really positions us to be one of the leading competitors in the DTC space and really accelerates our growth there and achieving scale in DTC.”

SVOD market leader Netflix ended 2025 with more than 315 million global paid subscribers, while Paramount+ lost 100,000 subs in the last 90 days of the year, and Max added 3.5 million subs, ending the year with 131.5 million.

Regarding the HBO brand, Ellison said he would prefer not to disrupt the legacy platform.

“Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO,” he said. “They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it.”

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Paramount’s ‘Scream 7’ Hits Highest Decibel With $97.2 Million Global Box Office Debut

Paramount Pictures’ seventh installment in the 30-year-old “Scream” horror franchise didn’t disappoint, generating a $97.2 million global box debut through March 1.

Scream 7, featuring returning cast members Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell and David Arquette, bowed at No. 1 across North American screens with $64.1 in estimated ticket sales.

The opening marks the franchise’s largest international launch and the biggest ever domestic opening for a February horror theatrical release. It’s also Paramount’s first theatrical No. 1 debut in almost 12 months.

Gary Barber, CEO of Spyglass Media Group, which launched the “Scream” franchise in 1996 before partnering with Paramount in 2020, lauded Paramount, including co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, for being “tremendously supportive since day one” and committed to making Scream 7 a priority tentpole for the studio.

“We are truly grateful to audiences around the world who enthusiastically showed up to theaters, ready for another thrilling Ghostface experience,” Barber said in a statement.

“Even the ‘Alien’ movies, with their blend of science-fiction, creatures and horror, did not open this well at this point in their franchise (the seventh ‘Alien’ movie opened to $51 million in June 2012),” David A. Gross with FranchiseRE, wrote in a post.

Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT was No. 2  with $12 million, upping its tally after three weekends to almost $74 million domestically and $130.5 million worldwide. Sony’s animation unit is also responsible for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Netflix’s hit feature film KPop Demon Hunters.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, added $7 million in third-weekend ticket sales, upping its tally past $72 in North America and almost $120 million overseas. The worldwide total now stands at $192 million.

Trafalgar Releasing’s concert film Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined — Live in Mexico City was No. 4 over the weekend with $3.7 million in ticket sales.

Neon’s concert film from Elvis director Baz Luhrmann, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, saw another $3.5 million in ticket sales following last weekend’s $4.3 million debut, upping its North American tally to $7.8 million.

Lionsgate’s I Can Only Imagine 2 added $3.1 million in second-weekend ticket sales, upping its North American total to $13.3 million.

Other results saw Amazon MGM Studios’ Crime 101 add $3.4 million in estimated third-weekend ticket sales to give it $30 million domestically overall since launch, followed by 20th Century Studios’ survival drama Send Help with $2.8 million in fifth-weekend revenue to bring its domestic tally to $60 million.

A24’s How to Make a Killing added $1.6 million in estimated second-weekend ticket sales to give it a global total of $6.3 million.

Finally, Disney’s Zootopia 2, which hit digital retail platforms Jan. 27, added $1.43 million in ticket sales, upping it North American total to $426 million after 14 weeks. The movie will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc March 3.

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Netflix Stock Rebounds as Streamer Walks Away From WBD Deal $2.8 Billion Richer

Netflix shares soared almost 10% after the streamer dropped its $82.7 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets, alleviating investor concerns and boosting the service’s market confidence.

The stock is still down 7% from the streamer’s $100.3-per-share price on Dec. 5, 2025, when WBD announced it had accepted a deal with Netflix.

Netflix Feb. 26 announced it would not counter Paramount Skydance’s revised $110.9 billion offer for the entire WBD, including its television networks, which WBD’s board deemed a superior offer to Netflix’s deal.

With WBD formally accepting Paramount’s bid, Netflix will receive a $2.8 billion termination fee from WBD — paid for by Paramount as part of the latter’s more than $11 billion promised termination and penalty fees should it offer fail to close.

With the deal officially accepted, the clock begins ticking for Paramount, which has until Sept. 30 to close the transaction or risk paying WBD another $650 million for every 90-days the deal doesn’t close.

Currently analysts believe Paramount will have few difficulties passing regulatory approval in the United States. Doing the same abroad could be a challenge. The deal still faces significant scrutiny from overseas regulators, primarily in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The EC is reportedly expected to conduct a rigorous review focusing on market implications across the region. Analysts note that while the EC rarely blocks media mergers outright, it may impose “light-touch remedies,” such as small divestitures or commitments to local content production.

California attorney general Rob Bonta also promised a vigorous review of the transaction at the state level, and could sue to stop it in federal court if found to be problematic.

The Center for Journalism and Liberty at Open Markets Feb. 27 released a statement urging regulators and lawmakers to reject Paramount’s bid.

“U.S. regulators and Congress should strongly oppose any attempt by Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery,” Dr. Courtney Radsch, director of of the organization, said in a statement. “As we have made clear in response to other potential bidders — including Netflix — further consolidation of this industry would deepen already dangerous concentrations of power over film, television, news and information.”

Radsch cited media reports that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos abandoned the deal after a direct meeting with President Trump — underscoring an unprecedented level of politically motivated involvement in media consolidation as Trump seeks to defang major news networks such as Warner Bros.-owned CNN, according to Radshh.

“This is not normal market behavior,” she says. “It raises serious concerns about whether decisions shaping the nation’s information infrastructure are being influenced by political pressure rather than law, fair competition or the public good.”

Regardless, Paramount has already received pending German regulatory approval on Jan. 26. The U.K. competition and markets authority is also expected to weigh in separately on possible antitrust concerns.

Paramount’s stock rose 18% in value, while WBD’s stock fell 2%.

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Paramount Eyeing Outsized ‘Scream 7’ Theatrical Weekend Debut Following Record $7.8 Million Thursday Screening Revenue

Paramount Pictures has high hopes for its first major theatrical release of 2026: the seventh edition of the venerable “Scream” horror franchise, again starring Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell.

The movie is projected to debut with $51 million in North American ticket sales the weekend ending March 1  according to estimates from BoxOfficeReport.com.

The movie tallied a record $7.8 million in Feb. 26 screenings in select markets. The film features Campbell’s return to the franchise after not appearing in the sixth movie, while Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are absent after appearing in the previous two installments.

“Critical reviews have been mixed, more so negative than positive, but reviews likely won’t come into play at the box office until after opening weekend,” analyst Daniel Garris wrote in a post.

Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT should drop back to the No. 2 spot with $11.5 million in projected revenue — down about 32% from last weekend’s $16.9 million. The movie is likely to hold up even better this weekend offering family audiences a big screen option before Pixar Animation’s Hoppers hits theaters on March 6.

Warner Bros.’s Wuthering Heights should round out the weekend box office podium with $6.7 million in third-weekend ticket sales.

The rest of the weekend theatrical slate includes six releases, which are projected to generate just $11.9 million in combined ticket sales. They include Neon’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert with a projected $3.2 million in revenue; Lionsgate’s I Can Only Imagine 2 ($3.1 million); Amazon MGM Studios’ Crime 101 ($3 million); 20th Century Studios’ Send Help ($2.4 million); Trafalgar Releasing’s new concert film Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined ($1.8 million); and A24’s How to Make a Killing ($1.6 million).

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Nielsen: Trump’s State of the Union Drew 32.6 Million TV Viewers, Down More Than 10% From Last Year

An estimated 32.6 million people across 23.2 million homes watched President Donald Trump deliver the 2026 State of the Union address on Feb. 24, according to new Nielsen data.

The tally is down almost 11% from Trump’s March 4, 2025, State of the Union address, which generated 36.6 million viewers.

Both totals pale in comparison to Trump’s first term speeches as president that generated State of the Union viewership of 47.7 million, 45.5 million, 46.8 million and 37.2 million, respectively.

While coverage varied by network, 15 networks televised the address from approximately 9:12 to 10:59 p.m. ET — with concurrent live streams where available.

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Nielsen: Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ Returned Atop Weekly U.S. Household TVs Through Feb. 1

Six streaming titles exceeded the billion-minute mark across U.S. household televisions during the week ended Feb. 1 — the most in a single week since the July 13, 2025, according to new Nielsen data.

The new season of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” racked up 3.03 billion viewing minutes to rank No. 1 overall. Netflix released the first four episodes of the fourth season on Jan. 29. While the viewing total is based on all available episodes (28), the four new additions contributed 74% of the viewership total. Adult women (18+) were the biggest drivers of viewership, accounting for 72% of total watch time.

Prime Video owned three titles on the charts this interval. The action-comedy film The Wrecking Crew topped the movie chart with 1.26 billion minutes and placed No. 3 overall. The original series “Fallout” trailed at No. 5 overall with 1.1 billion minutes (No. 4 original), having added the penultimate episode of its second season Jan. 27. The sci-fi series consistently draws the largest share of 18-49 year-old viewers among top 10 originals, representing 61% of its audience for the week.

Lastly, Prime Video’s British series “Steal” made the originals chart at No. 10 with 378 million minutes.

Disney+ released all eight episodes of its newest Marvel series “Wonder Man” Jan. 27. The series drew 618 million minutes in its opening week to place No. 8 on the originals chart. About 41% of the show’s viewing total came from adults 35-49, more than any other top 10 title for the week. The series also led originals in the concentration of black viewers (33%).

HBO Max’s “The Pitt” reached yet another weekly high with 1.21 billion minutes, landing at No. 3 among originals and No. 4 overall (also its highest placements to date).

The Peacock original series “The Traitors” (811 million minutes, No. 7 originals) landed on the originals chart for the fourth-consecutive week. The competition show captured a large contingent of 18- to 34-year-old viewers, which represented 33% of its audience.

The catalog cop drama “Rizzoli & Isles” generated 1.02 billion minutes to top the acquired chart (No. 6 overall) as the series continues to reap the benefits of streaming on Netflix.

New among top 10 movies was the unrated version of the sci-fi horror film M3GAN 2.0 (483 million minutes, No. 3) on Netflix, and the documentary Secret Mall Apartment (288 million minutes, No. 6), also on Netflix.

Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters notably made its 31st appearance on the movie chart since being released in June 2025.

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