Ellison’s gone on some sort of rampage. I don’t know why he’s obsessed with acquiring WB you just got Paramount focus on that for longer than a second. Zaslav is a figure I’ve defended in the...
Ellison’s gone on some sort of rampage. I don’t know why he’s obsessed with acquiring WB you just got Paramount focus on that for longer than a second.
Zaslav is a figure I’ve defended in the past. Hes like a Michael Eisner, someone that makes tough and unpopular decisions but that are ultimately beneficial for a company that was struggling financially. WB is a healthier company now than it was before Discovery bought it. But this hasn’t stopped Ellison from getting his friends to write hit pieces on Zaslav painting him as some incompetent fool who has made things worse.
I’m just hoping Zaslav is able to hold it all together until they split and Ellison can’t afford to buy WB.
It's wild to me that anyone would think Zaslav is a good CEO. He's been terrible. Look at the awful rebranding and management of the company's most valuable assets. They've trashed the HBO brand...
It's wild to me that anyone would think Zaslav is a good CEO. He's been terrible.
Look at the awful rebranding and management of the company's most valuable assets. They've trashed the HBO brand and the DC brand under his tenure. HBO was once the most prestigious name in broadcasting. He threw it all down the drain for a streaming service and then changed the name after a few months. So it was all for nothing...until they decided to change it back again a few years later.
DC may be on the upswing again with James Gunn in charge, but it doesn't take a great CEO to look at Marvel, say "oh, let's just give the guy who made some good Marvel movies a truckload of money to fix DC."
He may have temporarily helped boost profits by firing a lot of people and cancelling completed projects for the tax write downs, but that doesn't make him a good CEO.
I do hope this merger doesn't happen though. The media landscape is already consolidated enough.
These aren't the reasons Warner has been king of the box office this year. I think you're also overstating the damage done to the HBO brand by the train of nonsensical streaming service renames.
He may have temporarily helped boost profits by firing a lot of people and cancelling completed projects for the tax write downs
These aren't the reasons Warner has been king of the box office this year. I think you're also overstating the damage done to the HBO brand by the train of nonsensical streaming service renames.
The HBOMAX rebrand definitely was pretty bad. But him cancelling completed films is part of that unpopular but ultimately the stuff WB needed to do after AT&T’s foolish overspending. He got HBOMAX...
The HBOMAX rebrand definitely was pretty bad. But him cancelling completed films is part of that unpopular but ultimately the stuff WB needed to do after AT&T’s foolish overspending. He got HBOMAX to be profitable for the company instead of the money loser it would have been under previous management.
He even amended fractured filmmaker relationships, AT&T lost a lot of loyalty after their Project Popcorn in 2021 and then Zaslav’s scrapping of films. The appointment of Abdy and De Luca gave them credibility and it gave them films like Sinners, Weapons, and One Battle After Another. As well as next year’s Wuthering Heights and The Bride. WB used to be considered the director friendly studio prior to 2013, and it’s just now that it’s attempting to re-establish that reputation.
For me, it's how he went about it that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Barely any communication with the people who worked on the films or shows that got pulled. I remember the Infinity Train...
For me, it's how he went about it that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Barely any communication with the people who worked on the films or shows that got pulled. I remember the Infinity Train creator found out it was being pulled from Max on the same day as the public announcement, possibly from the public announcement.
Coyote VS Acme may have been the worst of all because production mainly took place after the merger, so he had a long time to pull the plug. I think some of the people involved had even explicitly double-checked everything was still going ahead and been told it was fine, shortly before the announcement. They genuinely thought it was a done deal and would be released. It had to be the biggest rug pull of all. I'm glad it's being released after all and plan to go see it when it is, partially out of spite at this point but also because the few people who've seen it only have good things to say.
Just... The way he went about that and the other cancelations left a bad taste in my mouth. If anything I'd expect that to make filmmakers wary of working with them since he established a strong pattern of minimal communication before shutting stuff down.
From an educational standpoint it might be interesting. Don’t think you get many hostile takeovers anymore. My limited and amateur understanding is they rarely work, and don’t make money when they...
From an educational standpoint it might be interesting. Don’t think you get many hostile takeovers anymore. My limited and amateur understanding is they rarely work, and don’t make money when they do.
At the very least might be some interesting discussion generated if it happens
However, the Ellison name now has a new venture: media. Larry Ellison is 81 and a tech billionaire best known for cofounding Oracle and now moving aggressively into media alongside his son David. The Ellison family’s influence over Paramount and CBS has surged because David Ellison’s Skydance deal to acquire Paramount Global places him atop the company that owns CBS.
CNN could come into the fold only if the family succeeds in a potential Warner Bros. Discovery pursuit, and TikTok involvement is tied to a U.S. consortium where Oracle/Ellison would hold a stake.
Ellison has been an ongoing ally of the president, raising millions for his campaign and advising him during the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, he’s poised to play a critical role in President Donald Trump’s executive order for TikTok’s U.S. operations. The U.S. branch of TikTok is valued at approximately $14 billion. Oracle, along with private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX would together hold around 45%.
Meanwhile, with the help of his father’s money, David, the 42-year-old founder and CEO of Skydance Media—the company behind hit films like Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible— has secured an $8 billion deal to purchase Paramount and its subsidiaries including CBS, MTV, and Comedy Central. David is also reportedly eyeing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent media conglomerate behind brands like HBO, CNN and TBS.
Altogether, the Ellison family name is taking shape to be the future of movies, streaming, TV shows and more.
It's still (same caveats as before) traditionally a poor move for that as well. And just because someone is already wealthy doesn't mean they won't want more.
It's still (same caveats as before) traditionally a poor move for that as well. And just because someone is already wealthy doesn't mean they won't want more.
It might be good old fashioned greed and if it was that would be a "better" explanation. But it seems more likely that it's about control of media and control of data: Who is Larry Ellison, the...
It might be good old fashioned greed and if it was that would be a "better" explanation. But it seems more likely that it's about control of media and control of data:
ALLYN: The Ellisons didn't return requests for comment but in remarks to investors last year, Larry Ellison fantasized about a society in which all things are under surveillance at all times and that Oracle would be the steward of all the data.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ELLISON: The police will be on their best behavior because we're constantly watching and recording everything that's going on. Citizens will be on their best behavior because we're constantly recording and reporting everything that's going on.
Update from the Post, Comcast may be considering a buyout as well. https://nypost.com/2025/10/09/media/paramount-facing-competition-for-warner-bros-discovery-as-comcast-could-emerge-as-suitor/
Ellison’s gone on some sort of rampage. I don’t know why he’s obsessed with acquiring WB you just got Paramount focus on that for longer than a second.
Zaslav is a figure I’ve defended in the past. Hes like a Michael Eisner, someone that makes tough and unpopular decisions but that are ultimately beneficial for a company that was struggling financially. WB is a healthier company now than it was before Discovery bought it. But this hasn’t stopped Ellison from getting his friends to write hit pieces on Zaslav painting him as some incompetent fool who has made things worse.
I’m just hoping Zaslav is able to hold it all together until they split and Ellison can’t afford to buy WB.
It's wild to me that anyone would think Zaslav is a good CEO. He's been terrible.
Look at the awful rebranding and management of the company's most valuable assets. They've trashed the HBO brand and the DC brand under his tenure. HBO was once the most prestigious name in broadcasting. He threw it all down the drain for a streaming service and then changed the name after a few months. So it was all for nothing...until they decided to change it back again a few years later.
DC may be on the upswing again with James Gunn in charge, but it doesn't take a great CEO to look at Marvel, say "oh, let's just give the guy who made some good Marvel movies a truckload of money to fix DC."
He may have temporarily helped boost profits by firing a lot of people and cancelling completed projects for the tax write downs, but that doesn't make him a good CEO.
I do hope this merger doesn't happen though. The media landscape is already consolidated enough.
These aren't the reasons Warner has been king of the box office this year. I think you're also overstating the damage done to the HBO brand by the train of nonsensical streaming service renames.
The HBOMAX rebrand definitely was pretty bad. But him cancelling completed films is part of that unpopular but ultimately the stuff WB needed to do after AT&T’s foolish overspending. He got HBOMAX to be profitable for the company instead of the money loser it would have been under previous management.
He even amended fractured filmmaker relationships, AT&T lost a lot of loyalty after their Project Popcorn in 2021 and then Zaslav’s scrapping of films. The appointment of Abdy and De Luca gave them credibility and it gave them films like Sinners, Weapons, and One Battle After Another. As well as next year’s Wuthering Heights and The Bride. WB used to be considered the director friendly studio prior to 2013, and it’s just now that it’s attempting to re-establish that reputation.
For me, it's how he went about it that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Barely any communication with the people who worked on the films or shows that got pulled. I remember the Infinity Train creator found out it was being pulled from Max on the same day as the public announcement, possibly from the public announcement.
Coyote VS Acme may have been the worst of all because production mainly took place after the merger, so he had a long time to pull the plug. I think some of the people involved had even explicitly double-checked everything was still going ahead and been told it was fine, shortly before the announcement. They genuinely thought it was a done deal and would be released. It had to be the biggest rug pull of all. I'm glad it's being released after all and plan to go see it when it is, partially out of spite at this point but also because the few people who've seen it only have good things to say.
Just... The way he went about that and the other cancelations left a bad taste in my mouth. If anything I'd expect that to make filmmakers wary of working with them since he established a strong pattern of minimal communication before shutting stuff down.
Archive: https://archive.is/20251013024406/https://www.wsj.com/business/media/paramount-circling-warner-bros-discovery-after-rebuffed-approach-64d8d825
From an educational standpoint it might be interesting. Don’t think you get many hostile takeovers anymore. My limited and amateur understanding is they rarely work, and don’t make money when they do.
At the very least might be some interesting discussion generated if it happens
This is not about making money (Ellison's daddy is a billionaire), it's about consolidating control.
Consolidating control...of legacy and social media.
It's still (same caveats as before) traditionally a poor move for that as well. And just because someone is already wealthy doesn't mean they won't want more.
It might be good old fashioned greed and if it was that would be a "better" explanation. But it seems more likely that it's about control of media and control of data:
Who is Larry Ellison, the billionaire Trump friend who's part of the TikTok takeover? (NPR)
Anywho, I agree with you that it might be interesting and I agree with GLaDYS that it is disconcerting.
Who? Ellison? What law would he break by "sharing ideas about how to undermine the result of the election"?
Update from the Post, Comcast may be considering a buyout as well.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/09/media/paramount-facing-competition-for-warner-bros-discovery-as-comcast-could-emerge-as-suitor/