The completion this month of Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has created Skydance: amedia behemoth that, as a result of the transaction, comprises some of Hollywood’s most recognisable studios, including Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, HBO, Paramount +, a vast television portfolio, as well as news platforms, CNN and CBS. The takeover was months in the making and garnered much public attention.
What started as a tête-à-tête bidding war at the end of 2025 against Netflixculminated in a federal ruling against the 12 US states that tried to block the transaction on antitrust grounds at the end of September – just a week before final approval. Read moreParamount completes takeover of Warner Bros, creating media behemoth Skydance As film industry opponents feared job cuts, media groups worried about the editorial independence of a news platform under David Ellison, whose family has close ties to Republican US President Donald Trump. But from a French perspective, the development may cultivate a narrative that is less a question of whether yet another media giant can succeed in presenting true competition against the likes of Netflix or Canal+, and more about how a heavily indebted, consolidated global studio can operate profitably inside of one of the world’s most protected audiovisual markets.
Creative works and cultural products are required to be handled differently when it comes to international trade laws, according to France’s “cultural exception” policy.It hinges on a unique arrangement: international films and platforms may sell to French audiences, but they must actively contribute to preserve, invest in and stimulate France’s creative economy. Ellison’s deal therefore interrogates whether this principle can remain viable when the counterparty becomes larger, more leveraged and more focused on global scale. Paramount wraps up mega Warner Bros merger to create Hollywood powerhouse To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Skydance began life with nearly $80 billion in debt, though it aims to reduce company costs by $6 billion in “structural and tech-stack cost savings” over the next three years, according tothe Financial Times.
One of its first post-merger moves has included price increases on Discovery+, while reports indicate the firm’s plans to combine the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services into a single platform or bundle. This doesn’t make French investment impossible. Indeed, consolidation may benefit French cinema by increasing the amount the company is required to invest locally under France’s SMAD regime.
Introduced in 2021 and enforced by France’s multimedia regulator, Arcom,the SMAD regime requires any foreign on-demand audiovisual service provider targeting France to contribute 20-25 percent of its French revenue towards European and French-language productions. A subsequent Paramount-HBO operation would aggregate subscription revenue, increasing the firm’s local content obligations. Read moreParamount CEO says politics fueling Warner Bros. merger battle In the streaming universe, a related battle is underway among Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+.
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