Sony Reportedly in Talks to Join a Bid to Buy Paramount

[nidza_maj2000]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I don't see DC bothering with IDW's continuity at all. If they got it they'd just start a fresh series at #1 and do their own thing.

I just hope if it happens, IDW knows enough ahead of time to give the series a satisfying conclusion. Like I don't want IDW TMNT just canceled on a random issue without an ending. So hopefully they are able to give it a satisfying ending whenever the time comes.

You are right, we will still get TMNT Battle Nexus comic though because buying another company takes time and this comic will be published until February 2026

[ranger_scout]

Paramount/Skydance appears to be winning the battle.

https://nypost.com/2025/11/22/busine...ros-discovery/

[CyberCubed]

I think people don't realize how insane it will be if Paramount owns WB. That means Paramount will own:

Superman
Batman
All DC Superheroes and comics (Wonder Woman, Flash, Teen Titans, etc)
Bugs Bunny and all of Looney Tunes
Tom and Jerry
Spongebob
TMNT
Avatar the Last Airbender
Rugrats and all other old Nickelodeon cartoons
Star Trek
The Flintstones
The Jetsons
Most old Hanna Barbera cartoons
The Smurfs
Animaniacs
Most Cartoon Network original shows

They'll damn well own almost every major kids property outside of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think people don't realize how insane it will be if Paramount owns WB. That means Paramount will own:

Superman
Batman
All DC Superheroes and comics (Wonder Woman, Flash, Teen Titans, etc)
Bugs Bunny and all of Looney Tunes
Tom and Jerry
Spongebob
TMNT
Avatar the Last Airbender
Rugrats and all other old Nickelodeon cartoons
Star Trek
The Flintstones
The Jetsons
Most old Hanna Barbera cartoons
The Smurfs
Animaniacs
Most Cartoon Network original shows

They'll damn well own almost every major kids property outside of Disney/Marvel/Star Wars.

Well, technically Studio Peyo owns the Smurfs and Paramount only holds a license but I doubt anyone there will allow it to expire.

But more to the point, yeah this is the same thing as with Disney/FOX and it'll likely have the same terrible result. Most of 20th Century's output since the buyout is direct to streaming and/or stuff Disney don't seem comfortable releasing as "Disney". Paramount might give less of a crap about whether or not something is suitable for marketing as "Paramount" but I don't expect the results to be all that good regardless.

[Andrew NDB]

Whoever "wins" this there will be MAJOR regulatory red tape, and it might not be allowed to happen at all.

[nidza_maj2000]

If someone here watched Victorious on Nickelodeon than you guys probably know it is getting another spin off series titled Hollywood Arts that is set to be released in 2026 on Netflix first, just imagine if this merger happens than if this series gets renewed for season 2 than there might be students dressed as Flintstones, Powerpuff Girls, Teen Titans Go and maybe some other characters in school and I think it would be good to see

[ranger_scout]

The second round of bids have arrived.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bu...nt-1236439442/

James Cameron believes Netflix buying Warner Bros. would be disastrous, especially for cinemas.

https://www.indiewire.com/news/busin...er-1235163915/

ETA: Paramount's bid is backed by three Middle-Eastern wealth funds.

https://variety.com/2025/biz/news/pa...ds-1236597217/

[Andrew NDB]

Netflix has vowed they'll keep the theater model going if they "win" but... boy, the bigger concern there is that Netflix is terrible. Full of horrible people.

Then Paramount with the Saudis backing them... that's even worse!

The best thing that can happen here is just nothing. No sale. Whether that means WB doesn't like the offers or the whole thing is blocked.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by ranger_scout

The second round of bids have arrived.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bu...nt-1236439442/

James Cameron believes Netflix buying Warner Bros. Would be disastrous, especially for cinemas.

https://www.indiewire.com/news/busin...er-1235163915/

ETA: Paramount's bid is backed by three Middle-Eastern wealth funds.

https://variety.com/2025/biz/news/pa...ds-1236597217/

Why does the Saudis want Paramount and Warner to merge?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by neatoman

Why does the Saudis want Paramount and Warner to merge?

If you've been reading Cosmisbooknews it's because the Saudis want to BrInG BaCk tHe SnYdErVeRsE!!!

But honestly, the Saudis have been trying to get their fingers into as much "big" entertainment as they can lately. Owning Paramount/Skydance is cool, but not that cool, as the Saudis probably aren't super into things like Star Trek and TMNT all that much. WB has the big marquee properties. Obviously if they're dumping money into Paramount's pockets for their deal the Saudis will have some degree of oversight, or at least creative sway in the final merged company.

[CyberCubed]

Where do the Saudi's get so much money from anyway? Is this all Saudi prince stuff dating back thousands of years? And how is another country able to buy an American company/broadcast station like this? I know Japan has laws where Microsoft wanted to buy Nintendo in the early 2000's and it was not allowed because the Japanese government prevented it.

[sdp]

They get their money from oil and are as rich as you can be, likely much richer than Musk or whoever the richest man in the world is. The last decade or so they've been diversifying and buying stuff as future proofing their wealth since they see oil becoming less important as renewable energies are beginning to mature.
They've bought tons of companies in the gaming space and own tons of stock in companies like Nintendo. They aren't buying companies for some culture war stupidity, it's all about money.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Where do the Saudi's get so much money from anyway?

Originally Posted by sdp

They get their money from oil and are as rich as you can be

But it's running out. Not in our lifetime, but somewhere in the next 50-60 years. So they started a "Vision 2030" program to instill economic diversification. This is why they fund stuff like WWE out of the blue and now are so interested in Paramount/WB.

[ranger_scout]

If Comcast's bid is successful, then it would merge Warner Bros. with NBC Universal.

https://www.thewrap.com/comcast-warn...versal-merger/

[CyberCubed]

And here I thought the Saudi's were too busy beheading their own women to be making billion dollar purchases.

[Coola Yagami]

Makes me wonder why they not only purchased SNK but also dumped so much money into it. You can say what you will about WWE, but you know they're making a profit.

I love SNK, always will, but I'm not blind to see that Fatal Fury and King of Fighters are still very niche markets in the US and no matter what they do their games aren't mainstream enough to make huge profits off them.

I'm assuming Terry and Mai in Street Fighter 6 was more about spreading mainstream appeal than it is to actually dip into that Capcom money to hopefully make more money off their own games through increased awareness.

[ranger_scout]

Paramount Skydance is saying the process of selling Warner Bros. Discovery "has been tainted by management conflicts" that favor Netflix's bid.

https://variety.com/2025/biz/news/pa...id-1236599906/

As I've mentioned earlier, I still Netflix buying the studio wouldn't be the best for theaters, which have been through a very challenging five years even if the company says they would still be putting the films in cinemas. It also wouldn't be good for physical media either like Auto_Benz said earlier.

[Andrew NDB]

What's the last great thing Netflix has produced independently? What, Stranger Things like 10 years ago?

[sdp]

Depends on what you mean by “independently" since they've sold many of their studios and only kept a few, many of which are for making content for other countries not necessarily the US. Also depends what you mean by "great" since that can be subjective but if you mean successful.. Wednesday was a huge hit 3 years ago for example that released its second season just now, KPop Demon Hunters was HUGE with kids this year.
Netflix is now co-producing and licensing stuff from third parties and calling them original and well it can be kind of tricky to define what is "original". The Ranma remake has been doing well and that's "original" as well.

[Andrew NDB]

Wednesday isn't a bad example. But I should pin down a little more with the question: "What is the last great Netflix thing that Netflix had direct creative input into, as far as ideas or putting specific creatives/showrunners in place?"