Harry Potter

It brings together two of Hollywood's oldest studios.

HBO Max, CNN, and franchises like Harry Potter now sit alongside Paramount Plus, CBS, and titles like Top Gun.

The path here was anything but simple.

Warner initially struck a deal with Netflix last December.

The new entertainment company, named Skydance, places the two studios under shared ownership with HBO, Max, Paramount+, CNN, CBS News, CBS Sports, and TNT Sports.

Its film and television catalog includes Top Gun, Harry Potter, The White Lotus, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

An internal reorganization is widely anticipated.

A memo from Ellison and co-CEO Wynon Craze acknowledged that combining the organizations would involve workforce adjustments that some staff may find unsettling.

CBS, HBO, CNN, Paramount, Warner Brothers, HBO Max, Paramount+.

So they own Harry Potter, Top Gun, Barbie, SpongeBob, and Superman.

HBO Max and Paramount+ remained separate initially but will eventually combine.

I guess that's one less, one less subscription, but I'm sure it'll be more money.

Think about the intellectual property library alone.

DC Comics, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, HBO, and Yellowstone are now owned by the same parent company.

The immediate business impact here will be felt in leverage.

When this combined entity sits down to negotiate with theatrical exhibitors for screen counts or with cable operators for carriage fees, they hold a commanding portion of the deck.

And you know, this has happened after the company had to fend off a number of competing bids from companies like Netflix and had to resolve a number of antitrust challenges as well, which is expected given the size of this deal.

If we look at the combined entity, which will now be known as Skydance, we see that it unites major franchises, including stuff like Harry Potter, Mission Impossible, popular stations like CNN, CBS, HBO as well, and Paramount Plus.

So these are some of the popular names that people are quite familiar with.

And, you know, in terms of the benefits, the new entity will boast significant scale, and it has a vast content library as well, which is expected to bolster membership even further.

Cable, you've got Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TNT, TBS, HBO, MTV, Food Network.

And for major franchises, this brings together the DC Universe, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, and a ton of other things.

So this is huge.

This is going to change the way we see entertainment for the foreseeable future.