Warner Bros. Approves Paramount Takeover — Will Your Streaming Costs Rise?

The deal isn’t done yet, but the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery just cleared a major hurdle — raising fresh questions about competition, what gets made and the costs to consumers.

That consolidation would give the newly combined company outsized sway over what gets produced and how it’s distributed. For consumers, fewer competitors in the entertainment market could mean higher subscription prices and less choice down the road.

On Feb. 26, Netflix withdrew its bid, and the next day Paramount reached a $111 billion deal — $31 per share in cash — to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery. The deal was approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies.

“To buy something like Warner Bros. Discovery, holy cow, that’s a big library, and it raises all kinds of interesting future strategy questions,” Kathryn Harrigan, Henry R. Kravis professor of business leadership at Columbia Business School, told NerdWallet in December.

On April 13, over 1,000 Hollywood writers, actors, directors and producers released an open letter opposing the merger. Among the signatories were actors like Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller and Florence Pugh, alongside directors like Sofia Coppola and David Fincher.

In the letter, they warned that the merger would further concentrate power in an already consolidated media landscape, leaving just four major U.S. film studios: The Walt Disney Company, Comcast NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and the combined Paramount Global-Warner Bros. Discovery. They say the deal would limit creative opportunities, put jobs at risk across production, increase costs and reduce choice for audiences.

When companies start talking about “restructuring” and “consolidation,” layoffs usually follow behind the scenes. On screen, the ripple effects start to show: fewer projects, shorter theatrical runs and less room for oddball or risky projects.

“What you’re seeing is only certain streaming services really can make prestige TV or push the envelope,” Anthony Palomba, assistant professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and an expert on the entertainment industry told NerdWallet in December. “Artists now have fewer venues to create new content.”

Not everyone in Hollywood is so skeptical. AMC head Adam Aron said in a statement on April 16 that the world’s largest theater chain is in favor of the merger. “I greatly appreciate David Ellison’s track record of success and his passion to make movies that will dazzle audiences the world over,” said Aron. “In just the short time he has owned Paramount Pictures, he already has begun to assemble a superb team around him and already has been increasing the number of movies being greenlit at Paramount.”

The deal has cleared the boards of both companies, and Warner Bros. shareholders, but it still faces scrutiny from regulators in the U.S. and Europe. The companies expect to close in the third quarter, pending approval.

Federal regulators did not move to block the deal during the initial review period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. However, the Department of Justice can still investigate the merger and potentially seek to block it.

The deal has drawn political criticism, in part due to President Donald Trump’s close ties to Larry and David Ellison, who are Paramount’s controlling shareholders, raising questions about oversight.

Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration for not investigating national security concerns associated with the deal, which is backed by billions of dollars from Middle Eastern funds, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

At the state level, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in February that the transaction “must receive a full and robust review” by the California Department of Justice.

Don’t expect the status quo to continue if the deal is finalized.

For viewers, the idea of bundling services may sound like an appealing way to access more content without paying for multiple streaming services. It also can mean with fewer competitors in the space, Paramount has more room to raise subscription prices for consumers.

Streaming services also don’t just freely swap or combine libraries — they’re bound by detailed licensing deals that set terms and fees for content. The agreements can differ dramatically down to the title, which could make it more complicated to combine catalogs.

Beyond TV and movies, the combined company could shift sports strategy toward consolidation and streaming-first distribution, bundling major sports leagues and events rights under fewer platforms. Fans may find more games in one place, but they may also face new paywalls, pricing tiers or exclusivity windows that make certain games harder — or more expensive — to watch.

It will take months for the deal to fully close, but if it is ultimately completed, the merger would unite some of the biggest entertainment brands like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Turner, HBO and Paramount+, as well as two major news outlets — CNN and CBS.

Paramount would own a combined film library of more than 15,000 titles, including massive franchises like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, Looney Toons, and the DC Universe.

It would also bring major sports rights under Paramount, including the NFL, Olympics, UFC, PGA Tour, NHL, Big Ten and Big 12 Football, NCAA College Basketball, and Champions League soccer.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images News via Getty Images)

About the author

Anna Helhoski is a senior writer covering economic news and trends in consumer finance at NerdWallet. She is an on-air contributor and producer of Money News segments for NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast. She is also an authority on student loans. She joined NerdWallet in 2014. Her work has been syndicated in news outlets nationwide including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and USA Today. She previously covered local news in the New York metro area for the Daily Voice and New York state politics for The Legislative Gazette. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Purchase College, State University of New York.