Paramount has completed an £83 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, creating a new Hollywood colossus. The combined firm, to be called Skydance, will bring together an array of TV shows, big screen blockbusters and channels, including CNN, MTV, the Harry Potter, Batman and Star Trek franchises, and Game of Thrones.
Paramount was able to fend off the might of streaming giant Netflix to get its hands on Warner. However, the big question for many of their 200 million plus customers worldwide is what the deal will mean for them.
Will prices rise?
That is among the big concerns for subscribers to the firms' existing services. Warner Bros owns HBO Max, while Paramount has its Paramount+ offer. The tie-up is likely to involve the bringing together of the two in some way, giving subscribers even more choice than they have already.
However, while that could also mean short-term savings for those customers, analysts also expect prices to rise over time. While Skydance is planning to make billions of savings through the takeover, it will also need to recoup the bill for the deal, and has been left with a huge £60 billion worth of debt.
Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester Research, told the BBC: “There’s no way that a combined Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming service won’t end up costing more for those who subscribe to only one of the services.”
Will it mean fewer blockbusters?
That was one of the concerns when the deal was first mooted. In response, Paramount Skydance has agreed to release a set number of movies over the next five years.
Breanne Gilliam, a corporate lawyer at Maddin Hauser, said: “Once those obligations expire, the company will have far more flexibility. Temporary rules cannot permanently fix a structural market shift”.
What is the wider picture for streaming services?
Most experts say there are far too many services that have launched, and that it’s inevitable some will disappear. Media firms have pumped vast sums into launches, hoping theirs will be the ones that survive the test of time.
However, as we have seen with the Paramount/Warner deal, there is likely to be more consolidation in the years to come. And so much spent on big bucks programme making has to be clawed back at some point.
We are already beginning to see that happen. Netflix, for instance, is upping the price of its plans by as much as £24 a year – the second such hike in less than two years.
