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Paramount buys time in WBD battle, refuses to pay up
Paramount Skydance has extended the deadline on its hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery to 20 February, buying itself more time to sway investors without making the one move many believe would change the outcome: raising its offer. The extension, announced on Thursday, comes as Paramount struggles to gain traction against a rival, board-backed deal with Netflix that has quickly become the benchmark for shareholders weighing certainty against ambition. As of the original 21 January deadline, just 168.5 million Warner shares (around 6.8% of the company) had been tendered to Paramount, far short of the majority needed to seize control. At stake is one of the most consequential media shakeups in decades. Control of Warner Bros Discovery would hand a single buyer an unrivalled portfolio spanning HBO Max, Warner Bros’ film and television studios, and franchises from Friends to Batman. It is expected to reshape Hollywood’s balance of power and test how much risk investors are willing to tolerate in pursuit of a higher headline price. Paramount’s proposal values Warner at more than US$108 billion, including debt, offering $30 per share in cash for the entire company. Netflix’s competing bid, revised earlier this week,
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Netflix amends Warner Bros deal to all-cash
Netflix announced that it has amended its Warner Bros acquisition to an all-cash transaction. The all-cash transaction will still be valued at US$27.75 per WBD share. WBD stockholders will also receive the additional value of shares of Discovery Global following its separation from WBD. The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash on hand, available credit facilities and committed financing. The amended all-cash transaction was unanimously approved by both the Netflix and WBD boards of directors. The companies said the amendment was made to create greater value certainty and a faster path to shareholder votes. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that the deal will allow Netflix and WBD to deliver broader choice and greater value to audiences worldwide. “The WBD Board continues to support and unanimously recommend our transaction, and we are confident that it will deliver the best outcome for stockholders, consumers, creators and the broader entertainment community,” he said. “The acquisition will also significantly expand U.S. production capacity and investment in original programming, driving job creation and long-term industry growth.” WBD will split Warner Bros. and Discovery Global into t
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Paramount sues WBD for information on Netflix deal
Paramount Skydance has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) for more information on the rival US$82.7 billion deal with Netflix. This came after WBD formally rejected Paramount’s US$30 per share cash bid for the media conglomerate, which the company said was superior to the US$27.75 per share cash and stock offer WBD accepted from Netflix. Paramount and Netflix have been in a heated battle for WBD for months, with WBD accepting Netflix’s deal to acquire big titles like ‘Harry Potter’ and the HBO Max streaming platform. In a letter to shareholders, Paramount also said it would propose an amendment to Warner Bros' bylaws that would require shareholder approval for any separation of the media giant's cable TV business, which is ‍key to the Netflix deal. Paramount’s offer, which would see it purchase WBD in its entirety, was once again rejected last week. In a letter to shareholders, Paramount chairman and CEO David Ellison said the company was committed to seeing its tender through and seeking more information on why it was rejected. “WBD has provided increasingly novel reasons for avoiding a transaction with Paramount, but what it has never said, because it cannot, is that the Netflix transaction is
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Warner Bros rejects hostile Paramount bid again
Warner Bros Discovery has once again rejected a hostile takeover offer from Paramount Skydance. The WBD board said it believed the Paramount offer was inferior to Netflix’s offer to buy WBD’s studio and streaming business for US$72 billion, which it accepted last year. “We have a signed merger agreement with Netflix, it’s a compelling value, a clear path to closing and protections for our shareholders if something stops the close, whatever that might be,” WBD board Chairman Samuel Di Piazza told CNBC’s David Faber on “Squawk Box”. Paramount launched its hostile bid for WBD just days after WBD accepted Netflix’s deal. The Paramount deal offered to purchase the media conglomerate for US$30 per share in cash or US$108.4 billion in total. Other than the price, a key difference between the two deals was that Netflix would only buy Warner Bros movie studios and HBO streaming service, while Paramount was also seeking to purchase WBD in its entirety. This would include Warner Bros’ pay-TV channels, including CNN and TNT. After being rejected for the first time, Paramount doubled down by guaranteeing the backing of billionaire Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Despite this, Paramount
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Ellison pledges support as Warner Bros fight escalates
Paramount Skydance Corp has enlisted the full financial firepower of billionaire Larry Ellison in an effort to convince Warner Bros Discovery to overturn the rejection of its US$77.9 billion (A$117.8 billion) takeover bid. Paramount Skydance agreed to the target company’s demands that the Oracle founder personally guarantee the $30 per share offer, which exceeds the $27.75 per share cash and stock rival bid from Netflix for the film, television and streaming assets. Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount and not to revoke the Ellison family trust or adversely transfer its assets during the transaction. Paramount said it obtained the guarantee because Warner Bros claimed the “full equity backstop” from the trust, which holds most of Ellison’s assets, was inadequate, claiming it was not raised before the “inferior” transaction with Netflix was accepted. “We expect the board of directors of (Warner Bros) to take the necessary steps to secure this value-enhancing transaction and preserve and strengthen an iconic Hollywood treasure for the future," Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a media release. T

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PR in 2026: Media relations to credibility currency
As we step from 2025 into 2026, public relations is no longer about chasing headlines or securing column inches. The discipline has evolved into the architecture of credibility currency, where every communication must prove its value not just in reach, but in measurable business outcomes.AI as a Co-Pilot, Not a ReplacementThe past few years have been dominated by experimentation with generative AI. In 2026, PR professionals are expected to embed AI into daily workflows, from drafting releases to analysing sentiment, while maintaining the human judgment that ensures authenticity. The winners will be those who use AI to enhance creativity and efficiency without sacrificing ethical standards.Measurement Becomes Mission-CriticalTraditional metrics like impressions and reach are no longer enough. Executives now demand correlation models that link PR activity directly to revenue, lead generation, and conversion metrics. This shift forces communicators to prove their seat at the executive table by demonstrating tangible business impact.Owned Narratives Take Centre StageA key lesson from recent years is that building equity for other people’s brands leaves agencies and companies exposed. Heading into 2026, PR is about ownin
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Warner Bros. Discovery auction almost a wrap
The future ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery could be clarified soon after the media and entertainment group reportedly received more takeover offers. The company has received a second round of bids, including a cash-based offer from Netflix in an auction that could conclude in the coming days or weeks, according to media reports. Bankers for Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix worked over the weekend on improved offers for all or part of Warner Bros Discovery, Bloomberg, and Reuters quoted unnamed sources as saying. Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery declined to comment on the new bids, which were first reported in this Bloomberg story. Warner Bros. Discovery previously announced it would split into two publicly traded companies, but widened its strategic options to consider offers for all or part of the company. One company would hold its streaming business and studios like Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max, and its film and television libraries. The other company would own the global networks businesses, including premier entertainment, sports and news television brands like CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery, free-to-air channels in Europe, and digital produc
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Daily Mail strikes 500m pound deal to buy the Telegraph
The owner of the Daily Mail has struck a deal to buy the Telegraph titles in a £500 million (A$1.02 billion) deal. The Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) entered a period of exclusivity with RedBird IMI, which has been seeking a buyer since being forced to put the papers up for sale last spring, to complete the terms of the transaction. RedBird IMI is a joint venture between the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners. RedBird Capital's own bid for control of the Telegraph collapsed last week. The Telegraph has remained in limbo for over two years, when the RedBird IMI consortium paid off debts to the Telegraph’s previous owners, the Barclay Family, in hopes it would take eventual ownership of the papers. Chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said she was looking forward to seeing a resolution. "This situation has been unsustainable for the business and unsettling for staff so I hope the government set out its position early next week," she said. "The Committee have largely stayed out of the discussion to date, because takeovers are quasi judicial in terms of the Government's role." DMGT and RedBird IMI said they expect the deal to be finalise
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US news regulator probing BBC and ABC
The United States communications regulatory board is ramping up its probes into both the BBC and the American-based ABC News. The Federal Communications Commission made the announcement on Wednesday, local time, that they would be reviewing agreements made with national networks and local broadcast stations Stateside. This came just one day after President Donald Trump criticised an ABC news journalist, who asked Saudi Arabia's crown prince about the killing of a Washington Post columnist back in 2018. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said the review will probe into stations' programming and public interest grounds. Additionally, the watchdog is examining an episode of the British BBC show, Panorama, over an edit of a speech delivered by Trump back in 2021. The current affairs show edited two clips together of Trump giving a speech before the January 6th riots. Trump has already threatened to sue the BBC for defamation over the edit, and now Carr has announced he wants to determine if the BBC provided either the video or audio of the spliced speech to any broadcaster "regulated by the FCC for airing in the US". Carr has already faced heavy criticisms over actions made as the head of the watchdog this year, most notably