What Really Happened in the Battle for Warner Bros.

Summary

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Big Take Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: What Really Happened in the Battle for Warner Bros.
Date: March 26, 2026
Host: Sarah Holder (Bloomberg)
Guests: Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter), Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)

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Overview

This episode dives into the dramatic bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, which ended with Paramount Skydance clinching a $110 billion takeover, outbidding Netflix. The discussion explores the reasons behind Netflix's exit, the high financial stakes, and the intense political and regulatory environment that shaped the outcome. The hosts and reporters also analyze what this mega-merger means for the future of Hollywood, the business strategies at play, and the potential impact on jobs, creative output, and media influence in the United States.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Deal That Shook Hollywood (01:42–03:19)

• Paramount Skydance outbid Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery at a massive $110 billion ($31/share).
• This deal dwarfs past media acquisitions; for comparison, Disney/Fox was $70–$80 billion.
  Chris Palmeri: “This is a big number. I was surprised because media values have declined in recent years, but the amount this deal is dramatic.” (02:14)

2. Timeline & Turning Point in the Bidding War (02:45–03:30)

• The momentum shifted to Paramount on February 21, when Paramount CEO David Ellison made an offer tailored to Warner Bros.’ needs.
  • Lucas Shaw: "Paramount submitted an offer that was really close to what Warner Brothers wanted... they were on the five-yard line." (03:00)
• Money was the driving force: the Warner Bros. board gravitated to the highest offer.

3. Netflix’s Withdrawal: Financial, Not Political (04:20–05:03)

• Despite speculation about political motives, Netflix’s exit was about price and their unwillingness to chase what they saw as an "irrational buyer" in Ellison.
  • Lucas Shaw: “Ted [Sarandos] was adamant that this had nothing to do with politics... They had put forth their best and final offer in early December and Paramount kept revising its offer.” (04:30)
• Netflix received a $2.8 billion breakup fee and saw its stock go up.
  • Chris Palmeri: "Their stock is up and they got paid 2.8 billion, which will make you a lot of Adam Sandler movies pretty quick.” (05:17)
  • Chris Palmeri: “People often say those best deals are the ones you never do. I think that's certainly the case in Netflix.” (05:26)

4. Why Warner Bros. Was Such a Prize (05:31–06:32)

• Warner Bros. is a Hollywood powerhouse: top-tier television (HBO, top sitcoms), rich IP library, and prestige.
  • Lucas Shaw: “Warner Brothers is one of, if not the most productive studio in Hollywood. Its television studio produces some of the most popular shows in the world... There are only so many studios you can buy.” (05:50)

5. David Ellison’s Aggressive Push (06:32–07:48)

• Ellison “fought a very hard-fought battle to take control of Paramount” and quickly pivoted to Warner Bros. after that deal closed in August 2025.
• Paramount made eight or nine bids, leveraging political, regulatory, and shareholder pressure.
  • Chris Palmeri: “It was a multi-pronged attack, if you will, on the Netflix deal by David Ellison and Paramount. They went to shareholders... to politicians and played every card they could in that department.” (06:56)

6. Is Paramount Overpaying? Deal's Risks & Precedents (07:48–09:17)

• The deal is historically large and risky; Warner Bros. has a track record of “cursed” mergers (AOL, AT&T, Discovery).
  • Chris Palmeri: “This company is like the King Tut's tomb of corporate world because everyone that touches it is sort of cursed...” (07:59)
• The impending consolidation poses unprecedented challenges—merging separate studios, cable networks, and streaming arms.

7. Financing the Merger: Debt and Foreign Investment (09:17–09:45)

• The Ellisons and Redbird Capital are investing $47 billion; major Middle Eastern sovereign funds are also involved.
• The deal is being financed with over $70 billion in new debt.
  • Lucas Shaw (sarcastic): "Pocket change." (09:45)

8. The Role of Politics—Influence on Shareholders, Not Outcome (09:48–10:13)

• While Trump publicly backed Paramount, his influence was minimal—political maneuvering mostly affected Warner Bros. shareholders’ confidence, pushing them toward the quicker payout from Paramount.
  • Lucas Shaw: “All of this, this feeling that the Netflix deal would face a stiff review... spooked a lot of Warner Brothers shareholders who were just saying, I want my money now.” (10:13)

9. The Path Forward: Integrating Two Mega Studios (14:06–15:33)

• Thousands of job losses expected due to overlapping assets and pursuit of large “synergies.”
  • Lucas Shaw: “It is a widely held belief that this will result in thousands of job losses... Paramount touted about $6 billion in synergies. Some people think it might be even higher.” (14:19)
• Official messaging is about “increasing content” but history suggests consolidation leads to fewer productions, not more.
  • Chris Palmeri: “Whether that translates into, you know, more content or... maybe less choice for us.” (15:09)

10. Historical Track Record: Why Do These Mergers Keep Failing? (15:33–16:48)

• Big media mergers are rarely successful.
  • Lucas Shaw: “There has never been one of these. These deals don't work... Time Warner merged with AOL—a textbook example of one of the worst mergers in the history of business.” (15:44)
• Yet, executives are drawn by “ego” and a belief that size alone can solve business woes.
  • Chris Palmeri: “Hubris, ego... The idea of just, oh, I’ll just bulk up, it’ll be so much easier if I just buy them.” (16:26)

11. Regulatory and Market Considerations (16:48–18:18)

• The deal faces more intense regulatory scrutiny due to overlapping assets—could face divestiture in Europe or pushback from Democratic state AGs.
  • Lucas Shaw: “By a lot of traditional metrics, the Paramount deal is... more likely to face scrutiny because you're combining like assets…” (16:58)
  • DOJ is not expected to block; European regulators may require modifications.

12. News and Content—Potential Shifts (18:18–19:36)

• There’s concern about editorial independence at major news arms (CBS, CNN), especially due to Ellison’s conservative leanings and the hiring of Bari Weiss.
  • Sarah Holder: “Ellison hired Bari Weiss to be CBS's editor in chief… opposed to cancel culture… critical of mainstream media outlets…” (18:18)
• Ellison insists on maintaining editorial independence, though skepticism remains about real-world impacts.
  • Lucas Shaw: “CBS News was not a centerpiece of his strategy for Paramount, nor is CNN going to be a centerpiece of his strategy for Warner Brothers.” (19:36)

13. The Future of Media Power (19:59–21:16)

• The deal would give the Ellison family control over a top-five global media empire with film, TV, news, and streaming clout.
  • Lucas Shaw: “It puts them in charge of one of the largest and most powerful media empires in the world… one of the three to five biggest media companies in the world.” (20:16)
• There’s speculation about a broader conservative shift in U.S. media, considering Oracle (Larry Ellison’s company) now holding a stake in TikTok.
  • Chris Palmeri: "There’s a sort of a broader, more conservative takeover of the mainstream media.” (20:36)
• Can David Ellison manage an enterprise of this scale? Only time will tell.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Chris Palmeri: “This company is like the King Tut's tomb of corporate world because everyone that touches it is sort of cursed.” (07:59)
• Lucas Shaw: “There has never been one of these. These deals don't work... [it’s] one of the worst mergers in the history of business.” (15:44)
• Chris Palmeri: “People often say those best deals are the ones you never do. I think that's certainly the case in Netflix.” (05:26)
• Lucas Shaw: “They viewed [Ellison] as an irrational buyer.” (04:30)
• Chris Palmeri (on studios’ future): "It's going to be a giant, unwieldy conglomerate with all of these different parts competing for attention and for money." (15:09)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:42–03:19 — Overview of the deal and initial reactions
• 04:20–05:03 — Netflix’s rationale for pulling out
• 05:31–06:32 — Why Warner Bros. Discovery is such a sought asset
• 06:56–07:48 — David Ellison/Paramount’s multi-faceted strategy
• 07:59–09:17 — Merger risks and historical “curse”
• 09:48–10:13 — Political influences and shareholder dynamics
• 14:06–15:33 — The challenges of integrating two media giants
• 15:44–16:48 — The history of failed media megamergers
• 16:58–18:18 — Regulatory outlook for the Paramount-Warner deal
• 18:18–19:36 — Newsroom independence, ideological shifts
• 19:59–21:16 — The future of Ellison’s media empire, questions about influence and management

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Tone & Language

• The conversation is frank, analytical, and occasionally irreverent—especially regarding Hollywood's history of disastrous megamergers and the “curse” of Warner Bros. acquisitions.
• The hosts and guests balance skepticism with straight reportage, highlighting both industry perspective and general business skepticism toward huge consolidations.

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Summary

This episode pulls back the curtain on one of the most consequential entertainment mergers in recent history. Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, outbid Netflix in a relentless contest for Warner Bros. Discovery, aided by aggressive financial offers and political maneuvering. While Netflix walked away with cash and minimal reputational damage, Ellison now faces the herculean task of integrating two vast, overlapping media empires. Guests suggest the odds are stacked against him, as Hollywood’s track record with mergers is miserable—yet the gravitational pull of scale, ego, and hope for streaming dominance keep executives coming back for more. The conversation closes by exploring what the merger could mean for media plurality, editorial independence, and the possibility of a broader conservative shift in U.S. media. Only time will tell if this deal will be an industry reboot—or yet another cautionary tale.

Transcript

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[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News it was a pretty stunning upset. Paramount Skydance finally clinched the deal to Warner Brothers Discovery after a months long bidding war with Netflix. The final price tag? $110 billion $31 a share.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

Yeah, it's just about the biggest in

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

quite a few years, bloomberg's Chris Palmeri said. That number is just so much bigger than other big media deals we've seen.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

You go back to Disney. Fox is around 70, 80 billion. So this is a big number. I was surprised because media values have declined in recent years, but the amount this deal is dramatic.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Back in December, Netflix had offered to buy the studio and its streaming business for nearly $83 billion and Warner Bros. Board accepted. It seemed like the end of the story, but it wasn't. When did the tides actually start to shift toward Paramount?

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

Our reporting indicates it was Saturday, February 21st.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw says that's when Paramount CEO David Ellison called up Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav and and said we've Got an offer that's going to address all your remaining concerns.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

Paramount submitted an offer that was really close to what Warner Brothers wanted. And people who were involved in the deal said that at that point they were on the five yard line.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Paramount Skydance has won a bidding war with Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount's persistence paid off.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

The board changed their mind. Money talks. They went to what they thought would get their shareholders paid the most and as a result, get them paid the most.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

I'm Sarah Holder and this is the big take from Bloomberg News today on the show the anatomy of a deal. Why Netflix bowed out, the regulatory hurdles that remain, and how these two big movie studios will become one. When the bidding war over Warner Brothers Discovery started in October of last year, we saw ever increasing offers from each side, endless negotiations and a laundry list of powerful people getting involved, including President Trump. There was even some talk that Netflix may have walked away from the deal because of political pressure. But entertainment and media reporter Lucas Shaw, who also writes the Screen Time newsletter for Bloomberg, says it really came down to price.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

It was really a financial decision.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Lucas got the first interview with Netflix co CEO Ted Sarandos after his company dropped out of the bidding war for Paramount.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

Ted was adamant that this had nothing to do with politics, despite a lot of the speculation, because he'd been in D.C. the week, or really the day that Netflix pulled out and had been to the White House, had met with the Department of Justice. They had put forth their best and final offer in early December and that Paramount kept revising its offer. David Ellison had made it clear that not only was he coming over the top here, but that he would continue to bid more and that they viewed him as an irrational buyer.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

So Netflix walked away, but not empty handed. The company got a big breakup fee from Paramount and a bump in share price from investors who weren't totally sold on the plan to buy Warner Brothers in the first place.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

Their stock is up and they got paid 2.8 billion, which will make you a lot of Adam Sandler movies pretty quick.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Bloomberg's entertainment and telecom reporter Chris Palmieri.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

People often say those best deals are the ones you never do. I think that's certainly the case in Netflix.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

So Lucas, going back in time a little bit, why has everyone wanted Warner Bros. Discovery? These two massive studios, Netflix and Paramount, Skydance, have spent a lot of time, a lot of energy and a lot of money to acquire it. What made it worth fighting for so hard?

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

Well, it's a rare asset, right? Warner Brothers is one of, if not the most productive studio in Hollywood. If you look across film and television, it's kind of year after year, probably the number two or three movie studio after Disney. Its television studio produces some of the most popular shows in the world. Ted Lasso, Abbott elementary, it's the home of Friends and Big Bang Theory. It's got hbo, which is both a great brand and a library of hit programs. And so I think people always see potential in that. It's never really been realized by one of these owners. People try to figure out how to better position HBO as a competitor to Netflix, how to use the studio, and it hasn't quite panned out, but it doesn't stop people from always wanting to try because there are only so many studios you can buy.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Unique as Warner Brothers may be, Chris says it was surprising to see David Ellison put his hat in the ring to try and buy it because he'd only recently taken over Paramount. Ellison's company, Skydance Media, announced it would take control of the studio for $8 billion in 2024. The deal took nearly a year to finalize after going through regulatory hurdles and FCC approval.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

David Ellison fought a very hard fought battle to take control of Paramount and just closed on that deal in August of last year. And literally a month later, he was bidding for Warner Brothers staggering amount of work to consolidate Paramount and then to try to buy an even bigger company. And so $19 a share was his first offer. There was eight or nine offers since then. That steady drumbeat, I mean, it was a multi pronged attack, if you will, on the Netflix deal by David Ellison and Paramount. They went to shareholders and they said, you know, there should be a bidding war here. We're offering more. That deal isn't good. You know, they went to politicians and played every card they could in that department.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

David Ellison went to the White House,

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

he went overse, meeting the president, meeting with regulators, everyone you could imagine.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

You gave us some context for that $110 billion figure, just how big that is in the scale of other media company deals. But is there a danger that they're overpaying?

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

Oh, yeah. I've joked many times that I don't even think it's a joke. But this company is like the King Tut's tomb of corporate world because everyone that touches it is sort of cursed. If you think about AOL buying it at and T buying it, then the Discovery merger, none of those deals have worked. And so this is going to be a major challenge. The story will not be over by September 30th. Or whenever they hope to close this deal, it's going to be major consolidation. We've never really seen consolidation of two Hollywood studios like this. This is a situation where you'll have two separate studio lots, Paramount and Warner, two separate movie studios, different people heading those. That's not really been the case ever. So we'll have to see how that works. Major consolidation in the cable networks. So, you know, this is now a business that will stretch from mtv, cnn, hgtv, cbs. I mean, just a huge television arm that's facing major challenges because of the, you know, meltdown of traditional tv and then this consolidation, which is really what this is all about, the streaming business. So hbo, Max and Paramount plus becomes one. You know, they'll still be facing five or six other major competitors. Can they make that work? Can they make that pay off? It's a lot of work ahead.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

To pay for Warner Brothers, the Ellison family and their partner, Redbird Capital have pledged to invest $47 billion in the deal. Some of that money will likely come from other equity partners, including three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds identified in public filings. And then there's the debt.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

They're taking on an enormous amount of debt. Well north of $70 billion to complete this transaction.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

Pocket change.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

It's not. It's not nothing. Well, Lucas, we talked about how adamant Netflix was that politics wasn't behind their decision to stand down here. But as we mentioned before, Paramount CEO David Ellison was lobbying hard for President Trump's support, and Trump wasn't shy about rooting for Paramount in this bidding war. So I'm wondering if you think politics had any influence on the outcome of this deal.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

I think Trump had pretty minimal influence. Where politics had the most influence was on the Warner Brothers shareholders. Right after Warner Brothers announced this deal with Netflix, what the Ellisons did really effectively was kind of rally a bunch of other people to oppose the deal and be concerned about it. That was senators, that was Republican attorneys general that they certainly worked the Department of Justice, and even, you know, figures in Hollywood, they really scared about the deal. And so all of this, this feeling that the Netflix deal would face a stiff review, whether it was in the US or, or Europe, spooked a lot of Warner Brothers shareholders who were just saying, I want my money now. Like, get me as much money as quickly as possible. Let's get out of this. And they started to make a lot of noise and put pressure on the Warner Brothers board. So, though I think Trump and politics played a factor in a lot of the decision making it was strongest with influencing Warner Brothers shareholders who then in turn influenced the Warner Brothers port.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

After the break, what will it take to bring these two big studios together? Past mergers might hold some answers, plus how the deal could impact the news and content you watch and stream.

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[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

The bidding war is over. And Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Chris Palmeri told me that. Now comes the even harder part. Combining Paramount, Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery into one mega studio.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

There's a tremendous amount of overlap. They both own film and TV studios, they both own cable networks, they both own streaming services. There is very little that one does that the other doesn't do. Which is why it's a kind of widely held belief that this will result in thousands of job losses. Paramount, when they initially were talking about their deal, I think touted about $6 billion in synergies. Some people think it might be even higher. Exactly what that's going to look like remains to be seen. Right. Are they going to keep Paramount and Warner Bros. As independent labels? As studios are combining them? They're going to say that they're independent and that they're going to increase output in both places. The history of mergers suggests that they will in fact curtail output over time. But they have to say they're going to boost it to get it approved. Same deal on the TV studio side with the TV networks. I assume it's going to be a bloodbath. They're just going to fire a ton of people and merge all those together.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

Yeah, David Ellison has really pounded the table and said they're going to make more content, more movies, more TV shows. It's going to be a giant, unwieldy conglomerate with all of these different parts competing for attention and for money. Whether that translates into, you know, more content or they ultimately put pressure on to cut costs and maybe less choice for us.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

You mentioned looking at history to kind of serve as a guide to how a merger like this might play out. What is the track record of these types of massive media mergers? When you combine something like Warner Brothers

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

and Paramount, piss poor would be the answer. There has never been one of these. These deals don't work. Right. I mean, I, I, I just look at the history of Warner Brothers, right. Time Warner merged with aol. Kind of textbook example of one of the worst mergers in the history of business. Forget just the entertainment business. Time Warner sells to AT&T. That didn't work very well. WarnerMedia merges with discovery. That doesn't work very well. Which brings us to this point. There just are not a lot of examples, at least in the entertainment business, of multibillion dollar deals that worked out well for the acquirer.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Yeah, I mean, if the track record of these kinds of media mergers is so disastrous, is piss poor, as Luca said, why keep trying?

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

Hubris, ego. You know, if you're struggling and you've tried everything else, cutting costs, you know, spending on these rights or this rights, then the idea of just, oh, I'll just bulk up, it'll be so much easier if I just buy them. And I think that's compelling argument that people can make to themselves and consultants make to them and bankers make to them. But ultimately, I think there is a lot of ego in this as well.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

We touched on the regulatory pressure a Netflix Warner Brothers merger may have encountered. What about Paramount Warner Brothers? What does the regulatory landscape look like there?

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

Well, by a lot of traditional metrics, the Paramount deal is actually worse from a regulatory perspective or one that would be more likely to face scrutiny because you're combining like assets, right? So you're combining two movie studios. It creates one movie studio that would have north of 20% market share. More than likely you're combining a bunch of cable networks and then you add in some of the less consumer facing ones, but more the monopsony, the ecosystem, its impact on suppliers. It's going to be one of, if not the biggest producer of film and television in the world. And so what kind of market power will it have over writers and directors?

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

And how might that regulatory scrutiny play out over the next few months?

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

It seems pretty clear that the Department of Justice is not going to go after this deal. They've sort of already breezed through a lot of it. They may have to resubmit what they're doing, but nobody's expecting the DOJ to file suit against it. The main questions are in Europe and with state attorneys general from Democratic states. I think in Europe there will be a review and there might need to be one or two changes made, maybe a divestment or two, but nobody's expecting it to block the full deal. I think you could see state attorneys general try to block the whole deal. Whether they'll be successful is is sort of anyone's guess. I think more likely there would need to be some remedies, sort of like in Europe.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Lucas, if this goes through, a lot of viewers are worried about how this might impact the content they consume. For example, if we look at news media, Paramount already owns CBS. Ellison hired Bari Weiss to be CBS's editor in chief and she's been critical of mainstream media outlets, accusing them of liberal bias. She's opposed to cancel culture views that make her popular with conservatives. And she's already clashed with some in the newsroom over editorial direction and concerns that she's willing to appease the Trump administration. What does it mean for the news landscape in the US If Paramount now also owns cnn?

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

That one is hard to say because I don't sense that David Ellison is spending a significant amount of his time thinking about the news business. It's not his number one priority. He's been more focused on film and television and entertainment. Obviously, the big concern that some people have is that because the Ellisons in particular Larry Ellison is close to Donald Trump and Republican politicians, that they'll sort of tilt CNN more to the right. They have not said anything to suggest that they're going to do that, but it's understandable why people would be concerned about it.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

Recently in an interview with cnbc, David Ellison tried to reassure journalists at cnn, saying that, quote, editorial independence will absolutely be maintained.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

The comments certainly didn't surprise me. He's going to say whatever he needs to do to sort of appease and mollify folks. CBS News was not a centerpiece of his strategy for Paramount, nor is CNN going to be a centerpiece of his strategy for Warner Brothers. And it is a nice asset to buy, but if you told him that he could buy it without cnn, I'm sure he'd be happy to do that.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

We've been talking about media consolidation broadly in this country, but there's also been consolidation of the media happening under the Ellison family. I'm wondering what completing this deal would mean for the Ellison's power and influence over the media business in the U.S.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

i mean, it puts them in charge of one of the largest and most powerful media empires in the world. Two studios, dozens of TV networks, two major streaming services. You know, by kind of any measurement, but in terms of revenue, in terms of market cap, in terms of streaming subscribers, it makes them the owners of one of the three to five biggest media companies in the world.

[Chris Palmeri (Bloomberg Entertainment Reporter)]

And of course, Oracle just invested in TikTok as well. So certainly part of this narrative that there's a sort of a broader, more conservative takeover of the mainstream media. And I guess you can argue whether that's good or bad, depending on your politics. But many people have made the case that that Paramount is moving in that direction.

[Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg Media Reporter)]

To Chris's point, what are David Elson's plans for this massive company that he's now in charge of? I mean, he went from running, you know, a relatively small business in Skydance to leveling up and running a much bigger business in Paramount. And now he's going to be on top of the something with tens of thousands of employees. It's just unlike anything he's done before.

[Sarah Holder (Bloomberg Host)]

This is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm Sarah Holder. To get more from the Big Take and unlimited access to all of bloomberg.com, subscribe [e-mail] podcastoffer if you like this episode, make sure to subscribe and review the Big Take. Wherever you listen to podcasts, it helps you people find the show. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.

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