Nepo billionaire David Ellison got his Goliath studio merger, when the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal closed on Tuesday. Mark Ruffalo valiantly tried to rally the troops, and Jane Fonda took to satirical protest, but still the MAGAt monopoly won. The only iota of good news to eke out of this mess is that because the closing happened six days past September 30, Paramount had to pay an extra $7 million a day to WB investors in ticking-fees. So all told, an extra $42 million was added to the $110 billion deal. And I’d be equally gleeful over the fact that Ellison is now also the proud owner of $80 billion of debt, were it not for the bitter fact that massive layoffs and production cuts will be swiftly executed to bring that figure down. And speaking of reduction and mergers and streamlining, this week Paramount confirmed their prior threat promise that HBO Max and Paramount+ will be combined into one streaming app to rule them all.

Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has been finalized, and assets from both behemoths will now be held by a combined company called Skydance.

In a press release on Tuesday, Skydance shared details of the $110 billion merger and gave a glimpse of its future plans. Most notably, the company confirmed that the streaming services it now owns, including Paramount+, HBO Max, and Discovery+, will eventually be unified into a single service.

“Consumers can expect greater innovation from a company built with technology at its core, including significant improvements to its direct-to-consumer streaming products, which will unify into a single service over time,” Skydance said.

This isn’t the first time Skydance has talked about merging streaming platforms. After outbidding Netflix to take over WBD in February, CEO David Ellison discussed plans to bring the two companies’ streaming services under one roof during an investor presentation in March.

The Paramount-WBD merger, however, was challenged in July by a coalition of 12 states over possible antitrust violations. The two companies then put off the merger until they receive a court verdict or until June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.

Tuesday’s merger confirmation comes on the back of “unanimous approval from competition authorities covering nearly 70 jurisdictions worldwide,” Skydance added.

The new combined company brings together two major film studios, streaming services with over 200 million subscribers globally, and cable networks including CNN, CBS News, CBS Sports, TNT Sports, MTV, HBO, HGTV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon, among others.

On the streaming front, we’re looking at the possibility of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, the DC Universe, Mission: Impossible, Transformers, and SpongeBob SquarePants being hosted on a single platform.

As for when the combined service will launch, Ellison said in a press meet that “it will take a period of time,” with bundles set to be rolled out first. Separately, subscription plans for Paramount+ and HBO Max start at $8.99 and $10.99 per month, respectively.

[From PC Mag]

Ugh. The thing to remember is that each existing app — HBO Max and Paramount+ — is itself already the result of one (and sometimes multiple) mergers. So get ready to have fun browsing through HBO, CBS, BET, TCM, TLC, HGTV, ID, DC Comics, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Food Network, Magnolia Network, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Discovery, Max, Travel Channel, Smithsonian Channel for something to watch on a Friday night! My great hope (ok, more like a fantasy, I realize) is that this app proves so cumbersome it leads to a spike in — wait for it — people choosing to READ instead! (Hey, I said it was a fantasy!) And I definitely don’t have the bandwidth yet to start thinking about what the pricing will be. Not to mention, what if you access HBO Max through a cable subscription? Will the entirety of the big new app be accessible through an existing cable subscription? Will it only honor networks currently on the HBO Max app? Will it honor NO cable subscriptions?? Something tells me I really don’t want to hear the answers.

Lastly, as I shouted out the protestors who put their names and livelihoods on the line, I’d similarly like to do the same for those who publicly supported this unholy deal. There’s James Cameron, who pretty much lives full time in New Zealand now (and is a Canadian citizen to begin with) but still appealed to Congress against Netflix buying WB. And then, because I don’t mind kicking a cult leader when he’s down, there’s Tom Cruise. Cruise was jumping up and down on a couch selling the party line, that of course Paramount will make good on 30 movies a year — and soon it will be 40!! Here’s a direct quote: “I think it’s awesome. You know, here’s the thing: They’re going to deliver 30 movies. It’s a community to me. It’s not an industry. The people in these studios are not just people in the studios, they’re my family.” Which family is that, Tom: the ones drinking the Xenu Kool-Aid with you, or the daughter you haven’t acknowledged in over 10 years?

Never forget that David Ellison’s Skydance Media was originally created so he could be an actor.

Skydance’s first film was ‘Flyboys’ starring James Franco and… David Ellison. David and his daddy invested $60m to make Flyboys.

It grossed $17m

Here’s a bit of David’s acting: https://t.co/NjCWQiMa12

— Sean Morrow (@snmrrw) October 6, 2026

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Paramount has closed its $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Billionaire David Ellison now controls:

—CNN
—CBS
—HBO
—Paramount
—Warner Bros
—Discovery
—Skydance
—Showtime
—DC Studios
—Nickelodeon
—Cartoon Network
—Food Network
—MTV
—Comedy Central
—HGTV
—TBS
—TLC https://t.co/TwEXrCKRan

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 6, 2026