\n<\/p>\n
As for the streaming side, you can expect to find all of Ellison\u2019s properties\u2014from CNN to MTV\u2014on a single app. Some industry insiders fear that all this consolidation could diminish the work of prestige brands like HBO, which Ellison calls his \u201ccrown jewel.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the multibillion-dollar AI question. Ellison himself insists that he sees AI \u201cas a tool for artists\u201d and a \u201cforce multiplier,\u201d not \u201ca replacement for human creativity.\u201d Those are the kinds of terms the actors and writers guilds will be pushing to formalize in their contract negotiations this spring.<\/p>\n
With the help of these tech-driven efficiencies, Ellison has promised to release 30 films per year between the two studios\u2014all of which he says will receive a full theatrical release. While Paramount didn\u2019t exactly clean up during this year\u2019s awards season, I spoke with a veteran awards consultant who said she\u2019s not counting them out just yet. \u201cPeople don\u2019t always lead with their chin about awards,\u201d she told me. \u201cThe movies have got to open and make money for these guys with their business model, and then go from there.\u201d A source close to the company told me that while Paramount did disband its small awards team in the fall, it could reevaluate post-merger and either rehire these awards roles or outsource them to specialized external agencies.<\/p>\n
\n\nThe Ellisons are both \u201clong slop and anti-slop.\u201d \u2014 John Coogan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
AI could also unlock new potential for WBD\u2019s treasure trove of IP, from Harry Potter<\/em> to DC Comics. For that potential, Ellison and company are paying a hefty $110 billion\u2014a number that was driven up by a fierce bidding war with Netflix. \u201cThe Ellison family is fascinating. On one hand you have the very aggressively AGI-pilled Larry buying the future, investing heavily in Oracle data centers, and on the other side you have David buying the past, accumulating intellectual property that feels impossible to rebuild,\u201d said John Coogan, cohost of the Los Angeles-based tech podcast TBPN<\/em><\/a>. The duo, he argued, is placing bets that are both \u201clong slop and anti-slop.\u201d<\/p>\n
But not everyone is convinced by this strategy. Paramount Skydance is \u201cdoing it by taking on almost unspeakably massive quantities of debt. It\u2019s basically like a private equity deal,\u201d former Democratic FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya told me Monday. \u201cAnd what happens with private equity is you need to show a cleaned-up ledger and balance sheet. And the easiest way to do that is to lay people off, because people are expensive.\u201d A representative for Paramount claims that layoff fears are overblown, telling Vanity Fair,<\/em> \u201cSynergies will be achieved by six key areas\u2014jobs are not the majority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Which brings us to the free speech implications of consolidating so many news operations. Last year, Team Paramount said it would take $24 billion from Saudi, Qatari, and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds\u2014and as of Sunday, according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg,<\/em> China\u2019s \u201cnational champion\u201d Tencent is considering investing several hundred million dollars, which the Paramount representative brushed off as \u201ca rumor.\u201d (Remember: Paramount Skydance\u2019s own market cap hovers somewhere around $12 billion.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n