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Zaz Is From Mars, the Ellisons Are From Venus

Murmurs from sources close to the Warner Bros. Discovery deal illuminate the latest machinations surrounding the Paramount-Netflix showdown—and where this thing is headed.

David Ellison, Larry Ellison
Despite PSKY’s claims of accommodating WBD’s wishes, the two sides still appear to be misaligned on several important deal points—and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why these remain outstanding issues. And the likelihood of the Ellisons pulling this off appears to come down to whether they can sort them out. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
William D. Cohan
December 28, 2025

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We’re approaching put-up-or-shut-up time in the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery, the months-long saga that, as things stand now, pits Netflix’s bid of $27.75 per share—in cash and stock, plus the stub equity value of the Discovery Global linear TV spinoff—and its signed merger agreement against Paramount Skydance’s hostile, $30-per-share, all-cash offer. In theory, the immediate next steps should be straightforward. But, as is often the case with these things, theory only gets you so far.