Paramount-Skydance's reported bid for Warner Bros. Discovery could spark media bidding war

Sat, Sep 13, 2025, 10:00 AM 4 min read

Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) stock has spiked close to 50% in just two trading days after a Wall Street Journal report said Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is preparing a majority-cash bid for the media conglomerate — a potential move that could set off a Hollywood bidding war and reshape the global streaming landscape.

The David Ellison-backed company, which just closed on its takeover of Paramount last month, is reportedly eyeing all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets, which include recognizable and high-profile properties from HBO and CNN to the Warner Bros. studio lot.

Paramount Skydance did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment. Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.

While no formal offer has been submitted and talks could still collapse, analysts say the combination would instantly elevate Paramount Skydance’s scale in streaming and advertising, while forcing rivals from Disney (DIS) to Amazon (AMZN) to reassess their competitive playbooks.

“This makes tons of both strategic and economic sense,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior media analyst Geetha Ranganathan told Yahoo Finance on Friday. “Both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are relatively sub-scale players in streaming. Put them together and you’re talking about 200 million subscribers, a top five global player.”

Netflix (NFLX) has more than 300 million global subscribers, while Disney+ and Hulu together reported 183 million at the end of their latest quarter, which ended June 28, 2025. Paramount+ has roughly 75 million subscribers, and HBO Max has about 125 million. Put together, that gives Ellison’s venture around 200 million subscribers — enough to rank among the top global streaming players.

Beyond scale, the combined company would also generate roughly $20 billion in TV advertising revenue, with analysts estimating $3 billion to $5 billion in annual merger synergies.

But Paramount may not be the only bidder. Comcast (CMCSA), Apple (AAPL), Amazon, Netflix, and Sony (SONY) have all been floated as potential suitors, though analysts caution that most may be reluctant to absorb WBD’s shrinking cable portfolio. Still, the rare chance to secure Warner Bros. Discovery's crown-jewel franchises could prove too tempting to pass up.

“This absolutely raises the stakes for everybody,” Ranganathan said. “With Warner Bros., you get top-tier brands like DC Comics, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. On the TV side, they have one of the best production houses and some of the most premium properties on HBO Max.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Paramount or any other bidder," she added. "It makes a very formidable competitor — and it weakens everyone else’s hand. That kind of leads us to think we could potentially have a bidding war on our hands."