To: Sam who wrote (8010 ) 8/6/2025 11:04:48 AM From: Sam Read Replies (1) | Respond to continued from the previous post--puck.news The Ellisons are not necessarily the only ones interested in a Warners deal. Comcast has long been considered a potential suitor for the company, as noted by Puck and others. One Paramount veteran told me he’s always thought Comcast boss Brian Roberts would love to have those Warner properties, in part to feed Universal’s theme parks. But antitrust hurdles likely would be higher for Comcast—especially during this administration.Brendan Carr has already launched an investigation into the company’s relations with those affiliates—meaning that the Trump regime doesn’t like the news they’re broadcasting. As we have seen, the Ellisons quickly responded to the administration’s issues with CBS News and 60 Minutes , and established that they’re going to get approval for the deals they want by any means necessary. Comcast may not be so willing to play ball. One top industry executive suggested that a Paramount-Warners deal, which would eliminate a major studio and countless jobs, would ring all kinds of antitrust bells. While regulatory approvals can always be tricky, we saw how the land lay during the first Trump administration, when the feds let the Disney acquisition of Fox glide by, while battling the much less horizontal AT&T purchase of Warners. John Malone and his longtime protégé, Warners C.E.O. David Zaslav , would have to be ready to hang up their spurs. Some industry observers find that hard to imagine. But Malone, now 84, is publishing a memoir this September entitled (deep breath) Born to Be Wired: Lessons From a Lifetime Transforming Television, Wiring America for the Internet, and Growing Formula One, Discovery, SiriusXM, and the Atlanta Braves . That sounds like an author with more than an intimation of mortality. And here’s the bonus: Once the Warner-Discovery split is finalized mid-2026, it becomes possible for Malone to cook up one of his signature tax-free transactions.Gunnar [Wiedenfels ]-run company, and he wants to be what he always wanted to be: a big Hollywood player.” Yet even this person could see a sale happening. “If David Ellison overpaid, I can see Zaslav selling,” he said. “It would have to be such a huge number.” As Larry Ellison prepares to turn 81, perhaps helping David follow his passion is the move. There are any number of deals to pursue, but a combination with Warners would set David up as an even bigger media power player. And while such a transaction would be whittling down the number of legacy studios, something tells me that the Ellisons can live with that. Though I suspect David Ellison would be just as excited as Zaslav has been to have Jack Warner ’s desk in his office.
