Another day, another Paramount rejection by Warner Bros. The dance continues.
The big news today is that Warner Bros Discovery’s board has rejected yet another bid by Paramount to buy the business. I believe this makes it the eighth rejection? Get the hint Paramount… she’s just not into you.
As per the Wall St Journal:
Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. , chair of Warner’s board, said Wednesday on CNBC that while the elder Ellison had stepped up by guaranteeing Paramount’s latest offer, “ultimately he didn’t raise the price.”
“They’ve gotta put something on the table that is compelling and is superior,” he said.
WBD shareholders have until Jan 21 to vote on whether to accept the Paramount offer. Shareholders may turn against the board recommendation, but that doesn’t seem to be likely.
The big question is whether David Ellison’s Paramount will come back to the table with an offer of more money. A smaller question surrounds the pitch by Netflix, which has an offer in to buy all of the company except for the linear cable channels. Are those cable channels actually worth more than the $1 a share that Paramount has priced them at, or is Netflix right in saying they have a higher value?
This week Comcast officially spun-off its linear channels into Versant, which on day one saw a 13% drop in value.
ABW remains sceptical that Ellison will be able to fund a higher bid, but there’s a lot of Saudi money yet to be tapped.
News Desk
Sarah Michelle Gellar says that the Buffy series continuation will be named Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale. It just rolls off the tongue. Read: Deadline
Something I didn’t realise about the Buffy reboot until today is that the new vampire slayer is being played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who also plays the daughter in the fantastic Ethan Hawke FX/Hulu series The Lowdown. She’s really great in that. And speaking of The Lowdown, it has been renewed for a second season. Read: thefutoncritic
Martin Clunes will play the lead role in the upcoming 5 two-part Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards. Read: Radio Times
HBO has renewed Real Time with Bill Maher for another two years. Read: THR
Nick Kroll comedy A Hundred Percent has been given the greenlight by Netflix. It’ll star Kroll alongside Sam Richardson, Jason Mantzoukas, and Vanessa Bayer about friends working inside the Thought Leader industrial complex. Read: Deadline
The mystery of the Red Dead Redemption 2 spider webs deepens with fans now discovering a mysterious question mark on the side of a mountain. Read: Polygon
The Duffman mascot has been officially retired from The Simpsons. Read: People
The Hulu app has been discontinued from the Nintendo Switch as Disney moves to fully integrate Hulu into Disney+ (in the US) by the end of the year. Read: The Streamable
Scooby-Doo! Gokko is an anime-influenced Scooby cartoon debuting in 2027. Read: Polygon
The People's Joker will debut on Tubi (presumably just in the US) on Jan 21. Read: Polygon
Heated Rivalry is finding success in Russia, despite it not being made available there officially. Read: Vanity Fair
Netflix asks ‘What next?’
Kicking off 2026, Netflix launched a promotional video and a slew of release dates:
Beef - season 2 debuts April 16
Sweet Magnolias is back with season 5 on June 11.
Virgin River’s season 7 debuts March 12
New film War Machine debuts March 6
And animated film Remarkably Bright Creatures debuts May 8.
Meme-ment of zen
Trailer Park
Relationship Goals debuts on Prime Video Feb 4.
Sophie Turner stars in Steal on Prime Video, debuting Jan 21.
An ordinary office worker finds herself at the heart of a heist.
Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web debuts on Netflix Jan 14.
A dedicated customs officer and his team take on a notorious smuggler leading a powerful syndicate, but unexpected obstacles threaten their mission.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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Eight rejections is basicaly a corporate restraining order at this point. The disconnect between what Paramount thinks WBD is worth and what the board actually wants suggests they're valuing the linear assets very differently, which makes sense given Versant's immediate 13% drop. The Netflix angle is intresting because carving out just the streaming/studio parts while leaving the declining cable channels behind might be the only structure that pencils out for anyone at this stage.