Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav sees more mergers on the horizon following the union of Paramount and Skydance.
Ah, David Zaslav. The CEO of Warner Bros Discovery has demonstrated his dedication to the arts, and to the world of movies, like no other over the last year or two. It’s Zaslav, after all, who’s overseen the deletion of pretty much completed movies to save a few bob, and the pesky expense of actually releasing them. Remember the Batgirl movie that was shot and near enough locked? Of course not: Zaslav rubber-stamped its destruction as one of his many cost savings. Top guy. Well deserved his pay rise.
In the aftermath of the news that Skydance is acquiring Paramount Pictures – unless another spanner appears in the works – Zaslav has been telling CNBC that more consolidation lies ahead. He reckons that we’re “going to see some real consolidation, whether that happens from companies buying each other, or jointly going after streaming together.”
The CEO who won’t release the completed Coyote Vs Acme film goes on to say that that he’s excited about a new joint venture streaming service called Venu Sports that’s running in the US. He thinks that it’s going to have no outright channels, and instead will be a very modern streaming service. This MSN piece does throw some shade on the idea of no channels, though.
Warner Bros Discovery did explore the possibility of a Paramount deal itself, according to one or two reports. Presumably Zaslav was keen to explore which Paramount films he could delete as well. Unless a late bidder comes in though, Paramount’s new home is Skydance.
Still, look for more possible deals and joint partnerships in the months and years ahead, it seems. We’ll keep you posted as we hear about them, and if films such as Scoob! Holiday Haunt ever get undeleted…
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