Podcast Summary: "Billionaires Brawl Over Warner Bros."
What A Day – Crooked Media
Host: Jane Coaston
Guest: Ben Smith (Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief, Semaphore)
Air Date: December 10, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode zeroes in on a high-stakes "billionaire brawl" over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery—a contest featuring Paramount Skydance’s Ellison family, Netflix, and not-so-subtle meddling by President Donald Trump. Host Jane Coaston and guest Ben Smith break down how these media mega-merger negotiations could radically alter your streaming options, the American news landscape, and even U.S. politics.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Contenders: Who's Buying Whom?
[00:20–04:48]
- Paramount Skydance: Recently created media giant, run by David Ellison (son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison). Now bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery.
- Netflix: The dominant streaming powerhouse, already agreed in principle to buy major Warner Bros. Discovery assets.
- Warner Bros. Discovery: Owner of CNN, Discovery Channel, HBO, and legendary movie franchises. CEO David Zaslav is leveraging this bidding war to boost stock prices.
- Presidential Meddling: President Donald Trump is connected to the Ellisons (major GOP donors and part-owners of TikTok); both bidders have courted his favor.
Quote:
"We’ve been talking about the Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Billionaire Boys Club Spectacular for a few days now. But it’s really worth digging into the details to understand how all of this could reshape our media diets and our politics."
— Jane Coaston [00:20]
2. The Stakes: Why Are Billionaires Fighting Over Hollywood?
[03:09–04:48]
- Industry Dynamics: Saturation of streaming services means only the biggest players can survive; smaller companies (like Paramount) feel compelled to scale up rapidly.
- Billionaire Egos & Motives: Purchases aren’t always purely economic. Owning a movie studio is often about power and prestige as much as profit.
Quote:
"Rich people love to own movie studios...and then follows the economic logic to, well, it's not enough to own just like a smallish medium sized movie studio. You gotta own a really big one or else go home."
— Ben Smith [04:17]
3. Trump’s Unprecedented (and Personal) Involvement
[06:01–07:56]
- Why Involve the President? Trump, described as an obsessive media critic, has made it clear that he wants U.S. news organizations—especially CNN—to be favorable to him.
- Regulatory Leverage: While unable to change media laws directly, Trump’s administration can slow down mergers via regulatory bodies (FTC, FCC, DoJ).
- Backfiring Bravado? The Ellisons, flaunting their closeness to Trump, have made some officials uneasy and possibly undermined their own case.
Quote:
"Currying favor with the government, even in normal times, is very important in big mergers and acquisitions. But right now, Trump has said he plans to be involved in this decision."
— Ben Smith [06:20]
Memorable Exchange:
"But, you know, we live in strange times."
— Jane Coaston [07:56]
"Even in strange times, it turns out that annoys people."
— Ben Smith [07:59]
4. Paramount’s Hostile Bid: A Wild Proposal
[08:02–09:26]
- New Entrants and Foreign Money: Paramount Skydance’s new offer is bolstered by Jared Kushner’s investment fund and three rival Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE)—a rare alliance.
- Promises to Trump: Allegedly, the Ellisons promised to make CNN “nicer” to Trump if they win.
- Regulatory Murkiness: There's uncertainty in how regulators should even define the “industry”—streaming, 'stuff watched on phones', TV, etc.—making antitrust decisions challenging.
Quote:
"One is because they reportedly have promised to make CNN nicer to Donald Trump. One is because they managed to unite three very rival rich countries in the Middle East...all united behind this bid to buy a movie studio."
— Ben Smith [08:36]
5. Why Should Consumers Care?
[09:26–10:03]
- Consolidation Fatigue: Most consumers are overwhelmed by too many streaming options and subscription fees.
- Media Control & News Integrity: The outcome affects not just entertainment, but also ownership of major news outlets, under the shadow of overt political interference.
Quote:
"There are like too many goddamn streaming services and I can't be subscribing and unsubscribing to like MGM plots every time I want to watch a movie."
— Ben Smith [09:36]
6. The Bottom Line: Who’s Likely to Win?
[10:03–10:30]
- Ben Smith’s Prediction:
- Highest bidder usually prevails—and in this case, the Ellisons may be willing to overpay for symbolic influence.
- Non-economic (ego-driven) bidders sometimes prevail in these giant deals.
Quote:
"Often I do think like the non economic bidder is going to win."
— Ben Smith [10:25]
Additional News Highlights (Segmented)
(Political and Social Media News; post-main segment)
7. Trump’s Economic Messaging
[13:04–14:19]
- Trump’s rally focuses on promoting tariffs and claiming economic improvement, despite polling skepticism and factual discrepancies.
- Characteristic “off-script” asides and provocations (e.g., deriding “Crooked Joe” Biden.)
8. Supreme Court on Campaign Finance
[14:37–16:06]
- The Supreme Court is poised to rule on campaign coordination limits, with significant partisan and legal overtones.
- Justice Sotomayor notes dangers of undermining congressional anti-bribery rules.
9. Social Media & Children: The Australia Model
[17:15–18:37]
- Australia just banned social media for children under 16.
- Figures like Rahm Emanuel advocate for similar U.S. policies; Senator Lindsey Graham signals bipartisan interest.
Quote:
"In Australia, a new law kicked in this week requiring social media companies to shut down accounts belonging to users under 16. No cap."
— Jane Coaston [17:26]
Notable Quotes & Timestamps
-
Jane Coaston:
"We've been talking about the Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Billionaire Boys Club Spectacular for a few days now... All of this could reshape our media diets and our politics." [00:20] -
Ben Smith:
"If you are a smallish streaming service... you find it hard to compete with Netflix, with Disney, and the people in that industry all believe they've just got to get bigger to survive." [03:28]
"Even in strange times, it turns out that annoys people." [07:59] -
On Consumer Impact: "There are like too many goddamn streaming services and I can't be subscribing and unsubscribing to like MGM plots every time I want to watch a movie." — Ben Smith [09:36]
Conclusion
This episode provides a fast-paced, smart overview of how billionaire influence, regulatory maneuvering, and presidential power are colliding in a once-in-a-generation media merger battle. The consequences stretch far beyond Hollywood, potentially shaping news coverage, public discourse, and access to culture at large.
If you ever wondered how the sausage gets made in media—and just how much politics is on the factory floor—this conversation is essential.