PSKY CEO: Merger To Help Linear TV Remain Competitive

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said combining the linear TV businesses of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will help them remain competitive longer during the industry's shift to digital streaming.

“There are incredible brands across the combined linear portfolio that we really do believe in being able to transition to a digital future,” Ellison said, according to reports including The Wall Street Journal. He added that the merger will “keep the portfolio healthier and prolong the life for longer than they would have as standalone businesses."

David Ellison

The comments come amid Paramount Skydance's recent agreement to acquire WBD in a roughly $110 billion deal, which has Paramount taking over WBD's assets instead of WBD spinning out its cable networks into a separate public company called Global Discovery as previously planned. WBD had agreed to the Paramount bid last week, stepping away from a prior merger plan with Netflix.

Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison—who is providing key financial backing through family-controlled Oracle stock—emphasized the value of uniting strong linear brands (such as CBS, MTV, CNN, TNT, and others) to extend their viability while transitioning.

However, the deal carries significant risks. The combined entity is projected to hold around $79 billion in net debt. Seeking Alpha analyst Max Greve described the merger as potentially "transformative" but highlighted concerns including the heavy debt burden, questions about the underlying health of WBD's assets, and "unique margin call risks" tied to Oracle's status as an AI-related stock.

Greve argued that the original Paramount already possessed strong assets but suffered from poor management. "Merging it with another mismanaged company won’t necessarily fix that," he wrote. He added that even if the merger has merits, the debt load and AI exposure remain major worries.