The Writers Guild Of America, like all Hollywood unions, likes to flex its muscles around town. Now, both the east and west branches of the WGA have found something they are against. The rumored studio merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance.
The Hollywood Reporter says they are not just wary, they are dead set against it.
Reports elsewhere claim that Warner Bros. Discovery has declined at least three offers from the newly formed Paramount Skydance. The union has come out strong in a statement:
“Merger after merger in the media industry has harmed workers, diminished competition and free speech, and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars better invested in organic growth. Combining Warner Bros. with Paramount or another major studio or streamer would be a disaster for writers, for consumers, and for competition. The WGA will work with regulators to block the merger.”
As anyone who follows the money knows, cash is king here. Mergers can tend to go through when both parties want it enough and pockets are deep enough to influence all the right people. Shareholders come first, second, and last, regardless of mission statements about customers and employees.
WBD’s stock price has soared as they make statements like how they are searching for “strategic alternatives to maximise shareholder value” – which means the pants are down and the position has been assumed. Come and get it boys!
There is also nothing stopping Paramount Skydance from contacting shareholders directly, and like all large companies, there will be about 20 or 30 massive investors, like pension funds, that can be persuaded, that will force through any deal.
The New York Post has highlighted that the White House has indicated that it would favor any deal, with an unnamed source saying:
“Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is very important to the administration. The Warner board needs to think very seriously not just about the price competition, but which player in the suitor pool has been successful in getting a deal done. And that points to the Ellisons.”
Warner Bros. had an incredibly profitable year in 2025, which explains their holding out on the offer.
