Let’s say you have a crush on two people and you find out one of them may like you back. Do you just start dating that person, or do you find out what the other person thinks, too?
That’s where [Warner Bros. Discovery]() finds itself today. The company has held preliminary [merger talks](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/20/warner-bros-discovery-shares-fall-on-report-about-paramount-merger-talks.html) with [Paramount Global](), the media conglomerate controlled by Shari Redstone. Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday to discuss what a merger of the companies may look like, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Crush” may actually be too strong here. This is not a case of both companies lusting for each other. It’s more of a partnership of necessity. Both companies don’t have a clear future competing for content in a streaming-dominated world where [Apple](), [Amazon](), [Netflix]() and YouTube owner [Google]() have far larger balance sheets. They just want to survive and boost their share price.
But maybe Warner Bros. Discovery would rather merge with [Comcast]()’s NBCUniversal — if Comcast is open to it. There may be [regulatory issues](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/19/media-telecom-companies-face-rough-2024.html) with NBCUniversal. It’s unclear whether officials would allow Universal and Warner Bros. to come together. This year, they’re the top two U.S. movie studios by revenue. While smaller than Warner Bros. or Universal, Paramount is still a top five studio most years.
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Let’s say you have a crush on two people and you find out one of them may like you back. Do you just start dating that person, or do you find out what the other person thinks, too?
That’s where [Warner Bros. Discovery]() finds itself today. The company has held preliminary [merger talks](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/20/warner-bros-discovery-shares-fall-on-report-about-paramount-merger-talks.html) with [Paramount Global](), the media conglomerate controlled by Shari Redstone. Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish on Tuesday to discuss what a merger of the companies may look like, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Crush” may actually be too strong here. This is not a case of both companies lusting for each other. It’s more of a partnership of necessity. Both companies don’t have a clear future competing for content in a streaming-dominated world where [Apple](), [Amazon](), [Netflix]() and YouTube owner [Google]() have far larger balance sheets. They just want to survive and boost their share price.
But maybe Warner Bros. Discovery would rather merge with [Comcast]()’s NBCUniversal — if Comcast is open to it. There may be [regulatory issues](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/19/media-telecom-companies-face-rough-2024.html) with NBCUniversal. It’s unclear whether officials would allow Universal and Warner Bros. to come together. This year, they’re the top two U.S. movie studios by revenue. While smaller than Warner Bros. or Universal, Paramount is still a top five studio most years.
More: [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/20/warner-bros-paramount-merger-talks-nbcuniversal.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/20/warner-bros-paramount-merger-talks-nbcuniversal.html)