{"id":651433,"date":"2026-03-13T00:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/651433\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T00:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:12:13","slug":"fears-of-a-bloodbath-are-growing-over-paramount-warner-merger-including-speculation-around-top-hbo-exec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/651433\/","title":{"rendered":"Fears of a bloodbath are growing over Paramount-Warner merger \u2014 including speculation around top HBO exec\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Hollywood is buzzing this week \u2013 less about Sunday\u2019s Academy Awards than fears of a looming bloodbath after Paramount Skydance inks its mega merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n

While casualties <\/a>could reportedly number in the thousands, the chatter in Tinseltown is increasingly focused on who could lose their jobs in the C-suites\u00a0 \u2013 with some betting that HBO boss Casey Bloys may be at risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recent days, Paramount CEO David Ellison has made the rounds at WBD, telling staffers that he intends to keep WBD\u2019s crown jewel HBO independent. He has even met with Bloys one-on-one to emphasize his commitment.<\/p>\n

Paramount CEO David Ellison made the rounds this week to quell fears over a massive consolidation, telling staffers he intends to keep HBO independent. Getty Images<\/p>\n

But agents, producers and other media watchers aren\u2019t buying it and are speculating that Bloys, a hitmaker who brought \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d \u201cWhite Lotus\u201d and \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d to HBO, could get edged out by Paramount\u2019s direct-to-consumer chief Cindy Holland.<\/p>\n

They pointed to Ellison\u2019s own statement that streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max will be folded into one service<\/a> \u2013 arguing that it looks like a blueprint for how things will unfold at the company more broadly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A rep for Paramount declined to comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has to be consolidation,\u201d said a top Hollywood agent, who predicted that despite Ellison\u2019s reassurances, there will be a streamlining from the top down.<\/p>\n

The source pointed to the hefty $79 billion debt load that Paramount will take on when the WBD deal closes<\/a>, as well as all the duplicative jobs across both companies, which when combined will include two Hollywood studios, two streaming services, two news networks and a slew of cable channels.<\/p>\n

Insiders speculated that HBO CEO Casey Bloys could get edged out by Paramount\u2019s direct-to-consumer chief Cindy Holland. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do they need two programming chiefs?\u201d the insider said, adding that Bloys\u2019 high compensation will make it an easy choice for Ellison. The source estimated that the HBO boss\u2019 compensation is $15 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A rep for HBO did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Sources noted that Bloys is more liberal and outspoken in the Hollywood community compared to Holland, who operates a bit more under the radar.<\/p>\n

Holland, a former Netflix exec who helped build the streamer into behemoth with hits like \u201cStranger Things,\u201d \u201cHouse of Cards\u201d and \u201cThe Crown,\u201d has a mountain of accomplishments \u2013 not to mention a strong relationship with Ellison.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hollywood insiders speculated that Holland, a former Netflix exec, would win a bakeoff if Ellison consolidates its programming under one person. Getty Images for Women’s Media Award<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he picks her,\u201d said one producer.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are trying to create this fictitious tension between Cindy and Casey. David sees the value in Casey,\u201d a person familiar with the situation told The Post. <\/p>\n

Such speculation may be premature \u2013 the deal still needs to get the greenlight from US regulators \u2013 and from there, top brass will need to evaluate what is working and what isn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ellison visited Warner Bros. this week to underscore his commitment to keeping HBO independent. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sources who know both Holland and Bloys say the entertainment veterans will find a way to work together.<\/p>\n

Still, there is a \u201clack of clarity\u201d when it comes to how Ellison will reorganize the companies while maintaining the quality of HBO, several sources said.<\/p>\n

Beyond the leadership \u201cHunger Games\u201d that is expected to play out once the deal is closed, there is also skepticism about Ellison\u2019s pledge to put out 30 movies a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an existential dread,\u201d one top motion picture agent told me. \u201cWarner Bros. was a significant buyer and it\u2019s collapsing into Paramount Pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can say anything, that you will make 30 movies a year, but if the financials are bad, that can change overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Hollywood is buzzing this week \u2013 less about Sunday\u2019s Academy Awards than fears of a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":651434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[30],"tags":[64,32129,171,398,8769,15329,73798,173,67,132,68,27281,84033],"class_list":["post-651433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-business","tag-david-ellison","tag-entertainment","tag-media","tag-mergers-acquisitions","tag-paramount","tag-paramount-pictures","tag-tv","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-warner-bros-discovery","tag-wme"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116218976598204713","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}