In a whirlwind week for the American media landscape, Paramount Skydance’s bold maneuvers have sent shockwaves through Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and the nation’s newsrooms. With the ink barely dry on its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount—which brought CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, and a Hollywood studio under its wing—the company is now setting its sights on an even bigger prize: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). At the heart of this high-stakes drama are two dynamic figures: David Ellison, the ambitious CEO of Skydance, and his father Larry Ellison, the Oracle tycoon who recently became the world’s second-richest person, if only for a brief moment.
According to The New York Post, the Ellisons have recruited Makan Delrahim, former Justice Department antitrust chief under President Trump, to spearhead their campaign to acquire WBD. Delrahim’s formidable reputation as a media dealmaker and his close ties to Washington have made him a key player in Ellison’s strategy to win over WBD’s CEO, David Zaslav. The pitch is simple but pointed: if Zaslav hesitates, he could face a fate similar to that of Shari Redstone, who sold her family’s Paramount empire only after its value had dwindled.
Zaslav, for his part, is no stranger to tough negotiations. As The Post notes, he has already enlisted Goldman Sachs to shop WBD to potential buyers. And the list of interested parties reads like a who’s who of the streaming world: Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have all reportedly expressed interest in WBD’s streaming and studio units, with some offers floating above the $22–$24 per share range that the Ellisons are rumored to be considering. But Zaslav is holding out for more—"well north of that, somewhere in the $30 range and just for the streaming and studio," according to sources familiar with his thinking.
There’s good reason for Zaslav’s confidence. WBD’s Warner Bros. studio has already raked in $4 billion at the box office in 2025, a milestone unmatched by any other studio so far this year. HBO Max, now profitable, boasts the third-largest subscriber growth among streamers. Meanwhile, Zaslav has been methodically chipping away at the company’s debt and separating legacy cable channels like CNN from the streaming and studio divisions—moves that could make a sale cleaner and more attractive to buyers.
Yet the regulatory landscape is fraught with challenges. Delrahim’s pitch hinges on the notion that, apart from Paramount Skydance, only Netflix and Amazon could realistically pursue WBD. But both face significant hurdles. Netflix, already the dominant streaming service, would likely trigger antitrust scrutiny if it tried to absorb the number three player. Amazon, which acquired MGM Studios in 2022, is operating under a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of consumer deception related to Amazon Prime sign-ups. As The Post reports, Delrahim believes this consent decree could be a major stumbling block for any Amazon bid, with the FTC, DOJ antitrust division, and FCC all potentially weighing in.
Apple, meanwhile, is reportedly content to build its content library organically, showing little appetite for a blockbuster acquisition. That leaves the Ellisons, with their deep pockets and political connections, as the most likely suitors. But even they face stiff competition: "If the Ellisons want this, they better bring cash and a lot of it," said a person close to Zaslav.
Behind the scenes, the Ellisons are said to be quietly strategizing, holding a flurry of meetings to determine their next move. One intriguing possibility: enlisting John Malone, a major WBD shareholder and a mentor to Zaslav, to help make the pitch. But as industry insiders point out, Zaslav is a seasoned dealmaker in his own right, having orchestrated the 2022 mega-merger that created WBD from Discovery and TimeWarner. He knows the ins and outs of balance sheets and regulatory hurdles—and he’s unlikely to be swayed by anything less than a premium offer.
Meanwhile, the Ellisons’ influence extends far beyond Hollywood. According to Reuters, David Ellison is rapidly transforming Paramount into a sprawling sports, media, and news empire. The company is expected to announce its takeover of The Free Press, a center-right online news outlet, and hire its co-founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. This move has already sent shockwaves through CBS News, with journalists reportedly "reeling" at the prospect of Weiss—a fierce critic of the mainstream media—taking the helm of the storied brand, as reported by The Washington Post.
The shakeup comes on the heels of several high-profile departures at CBS News. Earlier this year, former "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens resigned, citing concerns over editorial independence. CBS News president Wendy McMahon also stepped down, saying she and the company had "differing views on the path forward." And in a further sign of change, CBS has announced it will cancel comedian Stephen Colbert’s show in 2026; Colbert has been a frequent critic of former President Trump.
Speaking of Trump, the White House is reportedly in talks with CBS’s "60 Minutes" about a potential interview with the former president, according to Semafor and reported by Reuters. This follows Paramount’s agreement in July to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump, who claimed that CBS deceptively edited a "60 Minutes" interview with his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in 2024.
All of these moves are unfolding against the backdrop of the Ellisons’ growing clout. Larry Ellison, a longtime Trump ally, briefly became the richest person in the world in September 2025 thanks to a surge in Oracle’s stock price, driven by large contracts in artificial intelligence. Though Elon Musk soon reclaimed the top spot, the Ellisons’ wealth and connections have made them formidable players in both tech and media. Notably, they are also part of a group negotiating to keep TikTok operating in the United States.
As Paramount Skydance prepares its bid for WBD, the implications are enormous. A successful acquisition would unite two of Hollywood’s biggest studios and bring together two major news networks, CBS News and CNN, under a single corporate umbrella. This would mark a dramatic reordering of the media landscape, blending inherited wealth, political alliances, and regulatory savvy in ways that could reshape the industry for years to come.
Whether Zaslav will accept Ellison’s offer—or hold out for an even bigger payday—remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the game of media thrones is far from over, and the next move could change the face of American entertainment and news forever.
