Paramount Skydance’s leadership says there are no plans to divest or spinoff cable assets after merging with Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion.
The deal will see the two companies control a vast portfolio of cable and free-to-air networks, including CBS, CNN, HBO, TNT, Food Network, HGTV, MTV, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel and much more.
“We believe in the assets that we’re buying and there’s no plans to divest or spin off a package of cable assets at this time,” Paramount chief strategy officer Andy Gordon told analysts on Monday. “We actually think, given the brands that Warner Brothers is bringing to Paramount, they have a lot of opportunities to think about all the different aspects of what they can do both on the linear side and the digital side.”
CEO David Ellison said that the combination would keep the two companies’ linear network portfolios healthier for “significantly longer than they would be on a standalone business.” He added that HBO would continue to have “the resources and independence to do what it does best” and praised the network’s CEO Casey Bloys and the rest of his team for doing an “absolutely remarkable job.”
“HBO is a crown jewel in this business having brought to life some of the most powerful stories told over generations,” Ellison said. “Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO. They built a phenomenal brand. They’re a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it. But by bringing the platforms together, all of our content will be able to reach even a broader audience than we can do standalone.”
As for the streaming side of the business, Ellison and Co. confirmed that HBO Max and Paramount+ would be combined into one streaming platform boasting over 200 million subscribers.
The company is already on track to merge the backend infrastructure of Paramount+, Pluto TV and BET+ by the middle of 2026 and said they’d take a similar approach integrating the Warner Bros. streaming assets.
“We think the combined offering, and given the amount of content and what we can do from the tech side, really will put us in a position to be able to compete with the most scaled players in DTC,” Ellison said.
Meanwhile, Ellison has said that the combined company would commit to a minimum of 30 theatrical releases per year, with 15 from each studio.
Every film will receive a full theatrical release, with a minimum 45-day window globally before becoming available on paid video-on-demand (VOD), with the intention of 60-90 days or more for its most successful releases before being available on streaming. Paramount will continue to adhere to specific windowing regimes in geographies it operates in, including in France where Paramount maintains its windowing commitments.
