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The dust has barely settled on the Paramount Skydance merger but the newly merged media company reportedly has another merger in its sights. The David Ellison-led company reportedly wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which itself is currently in the process of breaking itself up into smaller media companies. Heres what you need to know about reports of a Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, including the prominent media properties Paramount Skydance would own if the deal went through. Whats happened? Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount Skydance was preparing a bid to buy its rival Warner Bros. Discovery, citing anonymous sources. CNBC and other outlets also reported the rumored plan. The deal, according to WSJ, would be a majority all-cash one that would bid for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, including its famed movie studio and its myriad cable networks. It would also include the HBO Max streaming service. Fast Company has reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance for comment. If the deal were to be approved by Warner Bros. Discovery and its shareholders, it would make the combined media giants one of the largest entities ever in the U.S. media space. It would also come at a time when the media landscape continues to go through massive shifts as streaming continues its disruption of both the cable and network television landscape and Hollywood and the movie theater experience. The consolidation of the two companies would also, somewhat ironically, stymie Warner Bros. Discovery’s stated efforts to de-consolidate itself, and thus the industry. In 2022, WarnerMedia and Discovery merged, but by 2024, the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to uncouple many of the companys assets. A merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance would put an end to that decoupling, as Paramount Skydance is reportedly set to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discoverys current assets. A ticking clock However, any such merger deal would be under a ticking clock. Thats because Warner Bros. Discovery has said that it expects to split itself into two publicly traded companies by April 2026, just eight months from now. Warner Bros. Discovery intends to separate its media assets by siloing its streaming and Hollywood studio divisions into a new Streaming & Studios company and putting its cable networks into another Global Networks company. By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in todays evolving media landscape, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a June announcement. Paramount Skydance is led by CEO David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, who reportedly wants all of Warner Bros. Discovery. Of course, even if Paramount Skydance manages to convince Warner Bros. Discovery and its investors to stop the split and instead sell, there is no guarantee the merger would go through. Federal regulators would likely have deep concerns over the merger and the consolidation of two of the biggest media companies in the world. What IP and assets would a combined Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery own? If the merger were to go through, the newly merged Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery would own many of the most high-profile, well-known television and film assets in the world. These include those currently owned by Paramount Skydance, which include: Paramount Pictures Paramount Television Studios Nickelodeon Movies Paramount+ Pluto TV BET CBS CBS Studios CBS News Comedy Central Nickelodeon Showtime VH1 Additionally, the newly formed company would own all of Warner Bros. Discoverys assets, which include: Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Television Studios Warner Bros. Home Entertainment DC Studios Turner Entertainment Co. Turner Classic Movies New Line Cinema Animal Planet Cartoon Network HBO HBO Max Cinemax CNN Discovery Channel Travel Channel TBS TNT TNT Sports Warner Bros. Theme Parks Warner Bros. Games DC Comics How have the stock prices of both companies reacted to the news? Very well. When news of Paramount Skydances interest in Warner Bros. Discovery broke yesterday, each companys stock price soared. Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBD) closed nearly 29% higher yesterday. Today, WBD shares are up another 8% to $17.52 as of the time of this writing. Shares in Paramount Skydance Corporation (Nasdaq: PSKY) closed more than 15.5% higher yesterday on the news. Currently, PSKY shares are up another $5.3% to around $18.40 per share today. At today’s stock prices, Warner Bros. Discovery is worth around $43 billion, and Paramount Skydance is worth around $20 billion. It is unknown how much Paramount Skydance would offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.
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E-Commerce
If nothing brings you more joy than curling up on the couch and binging a new series, theres good news. While it may feel like the ultimate guilty pleasure, new research suggests binge-watching TV could actually benefit your brain. In the U.S., people stream an average of 21 hours of digital media each week. Platforms like Hulu, Netflix, and HBO make it easy to get pulled into a marathon, releasing entire seasons at once and ending episodes on irresistible cliffhangers. But if youre worried all that screen time is frying your brain, a new study from the University of Georgia suggests otherwise. Researchers found that when people watch or read stories in long, uninterrupted stretches, it can help them recover from daily stressors. That’s because binge-watchers often revisit stories afterward in their thoughts, engaging through daydreams, imagination, and fantasy. Researchers call this retrospective imaginative involvement. Binge reading showed similar, though slightly smaller, effects. People who have that habit of binge-watching shows often arent doing it passively but are actually actively thinking about it afterwards, said Joshua Baldwin, lead author of the study published in Acta Psychologica and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Georgia, in a statement. Theyre very much wanting to engage with stories, even when theyre not around to watch shows. By dwelling on those satisfying story elements, it offers a way to cope with daily stressors and increase well-being. Baldwin explained that humans are wired for stories. Narratives, he said, serve an important role in meeting our needs, whether its the drive to connect with others, feel independent and capable, or find a sense of comfort and security. Stories have characters that fulfill these roles, and we can satisfy those needs through them, he said. No wonder 73% of people surveyed by Netflix reported having positive feelings after a binge. The research suggests that tearing through a book in one sitting or staying up until 2 a.m. to finish a season could be more rewarding than stretching it out with a chapter or an episode a night. Of course, its not all upside. Theres a lot of debate over whether or not media is a good or bad thing, but its always nuanced argument, said Baldwin. Binge-watching has been linked to poorer sleep, and the post-binge-watching blues after finishing a great series can leave some viewers deflated It always depends on the content itself, why people are watching it, the psychological background of the individual and the context, he added. Still, the next time Netflix asks if youre still watching five hours in, dont feel guilty for clicking yes.
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E-Commerce
After a lifetime of spurning would-be business suitors, the late Italian designer Giorgio Armani instructed his heirs to sell an initial 15% minority stake in his vast fashion empire, with priority to the French conglomerate LVMH, the eyewear giant Essilor-Luxottica or the cosmetics company L’Oreal.Armani gave control of 40% of his business empire to his longtime collaborator and head of menswear Leo Dell’Orco, and another 15% each to niece Silvana Armani, the head of womenswear, and nephew Andrea Camerana, according to his business will posted online Friday by the Italian daily La Repubblica.The Armani Foundation, which he established in 2016 as a succession vehicle, will control the remaining 30%.Armani, one of the most recognizable names and faces in Italian fashion, died on Sept. 4 at the age of 91. Two wills, one for his business empire and the other for his private property, were deposited with Italian tax authorities on Thursday, and widely reported by Italian media on Friday.The executive committee of Giorgio Armani said in a statement that the documents confirms “Mr. Armani’s intention to safeguard strategic continuity, corporate cohesion and financial stability for long-term development.”That includes Armani’s wishes for a short- and medium-term path for the brand mission and structure, which will be carried out by Dell’Orco and members of the family, the committee underlined.The foundation’s first priority is to name a chief executive officer, the committee underlined, and it will never hold less than 30% of share, making it “a permanent guarantor of compliance with the founding principals.” The committee said it would support Armani’s wishes to secure “the best possible future for the company and the brand.”Armani remained a rarity in Italian fashion, retaining tight control of his fashion empire in the face of advances from LVMH and Gucci, now part of the Kering group, and from Kering itself, as well as the Fiat-founding Agnelli family heirs.But in his business will, he specified the Armani Foundation should sell a 15% stake not before one year and within 18 months of his death, with preference to LVMH, Essilor-Luxottica or L’Oreal or to a fashion group “of similar standing.”Within three to five years, Armani also stipulated that the same buyer should increase its stake to 30% and 54.9%, or that a similar share be publicly floated through an initial public offering, either in Italy or a similar market.Both wills were rewritten by Armani last spring, partly by hand on the back of a sepia-colored envelope.His niece Roberta, who has long served as a liaison between Armani and his red-carpet clients, and his sister Rosanna, each were allotted a 15% non-voting share in the company.Armani maintained a 2.5% stake in the French-Italian eyewear giant Essilor-Luxottica, worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.93 billion), of which 40% goes to Dell’Orco and and most of the rest to family members just a part of the distribution of his vast personal fortune which included homes in Milan, New York, the Sicilian island of Pantelleria and St. Tropez on the French Riviera.The final Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani collections designed by Armani will be presented later this month during Milan Fashion Week, which opens on Sept. 23. A special exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera will mark the 50th anniversary of the signature fashion house.In his will, Armani specified that future collections should be guided by “essential, modern, elegant and understated design with attention to detail and wearability.” Colleen Barry, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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