Back in October, sources close to David Zaslav told me that Warner Bros. Discovery might make a move on Shari Redstone’s Paramount Global, an acquisition that would give Zaz’s mediaco new synergy opportunities, greater reach in streaming, additional franchise I.P., highly coveted NFL rights, and a chance to unite a number of assets, like CNN with CBS News—all at a pivotal moment when debt-saddled legacy media giants are fighting a sink-or-swim battle for scale. But any deal would happen a ways down the line, these sources cautioned: certainly after April 2024, the trigger date for WBD to pursue further deals according to the rules of the Reverse Morris Trust framework wherein WBD was conceived—and possibly not until 2025, once the company gleaned a better read on the regulatory environment. In the weeks that followed, both Zaz and John Malone seemed to acknowledge their interest.

Of course, a lot has happened since then. Most importantly, Paramount’s ever-declining market cap is now hovering around just $10 billion, and Shari’s own eagerness for a deal appears to have grown. Earlier this month, my partner Matt Belloni broke the news that Skydance’s David Ellison and RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale were also thinking about acquiring a majority stake in its parentco, National Amusements, Inc.—news that sent Paramount’s shares surging nearly 15 percent. And on Wednesday evening, Axios’ Sara Fischer reported that Zaz met with Paramount C.E.O. Bob Bakish “to discuss a possible merger,” as well.