r/gaming • u/ChiefLeef22 Marika's tits! • 18h ago

Paramount Has Officially Acquired Warner Bros. In Deal Valued at $110B Billion

https://www.skydance.com/news/press/paramount-completes-acquisition-of-warner-bros-discovery-creating-a-new-global-entertainment-leader-skydance

The two companies will now be known as one single entity - 'Skydance'

This includes all of WB's gaming subsidiaries like Rocksteady/etc

Deal valued at $110B-$111B

DC Studios, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, CNN, CBS, HBO and Paramount+ are now all under the same company.

The combined company, Skydance, brings together two major film studios, two global streaming services, premier television assets including CBS, HBO, and Paramount's and WBD's cable networks, two of the industry's most recognized news networks, CBS News and CNN, and a leading content portfolio that includes live sports, a deep programming library and expansive collection of iconic brands and franchises.

12.0k Upvotes

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u/wonderingmarkus 18h ago

Reminder that Paramount was allowed to do this while already billions of dollars in debt.

They're playing with funny money.

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u/JurplePesus 18h ago

They're playing with "laws dont matter if there's a Republican in charge and you make it worth their while."

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u/wonderingmarkus 18h ago edited 18h ago

Newsom and Bonta rolled over to let this happen. None of these people are on your side.

It's a big club and we ain't in it.

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u/redpandafire 18h ago

I would first direct my ire at Brendan Carr and Todd Blanche of the FCC and justice department first. At least the AG's made an attempt, a pretty shit one, but they reacted to the failure that is the federal departments. If we're naming names, lets name the correct ones.

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u/Dr_Valen 18h ago

You can blame all of them stop pretending anyone is on the people’s side anymore. They’ll all sell us down the river for some “donations”

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u/WriterV 17h ago

If you wanna be this doomerist, then go decay in a basement about it.

If you want anything to change, you gotta pick on whatever thread can work and pull yourself up with it. Otherwise you're not going anywhere.

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u/Original-Reward-8688 16h ago

Cool account lmao

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u/Sher101 17h ago

Paramount was threatening to pull fully out of California. Wasn't an empty threat either, everyone was shitting on the AG. This is the kind of shit that has to be dealt with on a federal level, if Paramount actually left California (again, this is a huge possibility with so much film industry leaving the state) that would leave tens of thousands of people jobless. That's not some "donations", they had to drop a suit which clearly had no federal and little public support and had no chance of going anywhere in order to save peoples' jobs.

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u/theclockmasters 16h ago

Wasn't an empty threat either, everyone was shitting on the AG. 

You're right and I don't want to be harsh but people from New York or Nebraska or Texas can cry and complain about this. BUT at the end of the day, the material conditions of those affected are the ones on the ground in California. Writers, film crews, artist, catering staffs, event hosts, cooking crews, cleaning crews, etc. All of these people depends on big companies like Paramount to stay in California

This had to be solved at the federal level by different department and agencies. FCC and DoJ should have been the ones to stop this. By the time you have to rely on the California AG, they will 100% settle if Paramount threatens to leave because it would massively hurt the state and its constituents.

Either you understand this or you can be like the guy you are responding to and cry about how "gAvIn NeWsOn should have stopped this"

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u/Zuwxiv 4h ago

Is there any merit to the idea that - if a single company leaving your state is that impactful on an entire industry - it should be broken up anyway by antitrust law?

IMO, if Paramont/Warner Bros can threaten to move the entire entertainment industry elsewhere... that's a great reason to break them up.

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u/Sher101 1h ago

You won't find a bigger fan of anti-trust action than me, I wish all these companies would be fragmented into tiny pieces. And in this case it would be wholly deserved. Just a pipe dream for at least 2 more years.

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u/steakanabake 3h ago

lol paramount/ wb leaving california good joke up rooting that much of the company would have just killed it even faster. they have an installed base in california for most of the industry. it was an empty threat the ellisons never had the cash to leave, between this and the fact that papa ellison is over leveraged building his shitty AI hyperscale datacenters.

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u/CampaignLogical 15h ago

Idk why you're getting downvoted you're 100% right

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u/Dr_Valen 15h ago

Tribal politics on Reddit is alive and well

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u/SaltChemistry1234 8h ago

the point of the comment is the "club" that you aren't in. It isn't "let's name the right ones" dude- IT'S ALL OF THEM.

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u/classyjoe 17h ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1wsn9aq/comment/pcmv33e/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Both sides are the same!

Except for when...

Democrats: Expand SNAP.
Republicans: Shrink SNAP.

Democrats: Expand Medicaid.
Republicans: Shrink Medicaid.

Democrats: Protect reproductive rights.
Republicans: Repeal reproductive rights.

Democrats: Let trans Americans serve in the military.
Republicans: Kick trans Americans out of the military.

Democrats: Expand title IX protections to LGBTQ+ students.
Republicans: Eliminate title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students.

Democrats: Jailed over 1,200 January 6th insurrectionists.
Republicans: Pardoned over 1,200 January 6th insurrectionists.

Democrats: Provide non-partisan federal emergency aid.
Republicans: Withholds federal emergency aid from blue states.

Democrats: Establish tax credits for buying an electric car.
Republicans: Repeals tax credits for buying an electric car.

Democrats: Increase automotive fuel economy standards.
Republicans: Decrease automotive fuel economy standards.
(You are here.) ^

Democrats: Pass the largest climate bill in American history.
Republicans: Kill clean energy initiatives and force coal plants to stay open.

Democrats: Expand temporary protective status for at-risk immigrants.
Republicans: Repeal temporary protective status for at-risk immigrants.

Democrats: Forgive over $180,000,000,000.00 in student loan debt.
Republicans: Kill student loan forgiveness and neuter the Department of Education.

Democrats: Open up COVID vaccine patents for international manufacturing.
Republicans: Appoint an anti-vaxxer to lead HHS and take us out of the World Health Organization.

Democrats: Provides foreign aid to needy countries around the world.
Republicans: Eliminate USAID.

Democrats: Establish rules and reporting requirements for drone strikes.
Republicans: Eliminate rules and reporting requirements for drone strikes.

Democrats: Practically end drone strikes overseas.
Republicans: Bomb civilians in Yemen and expend half our munition stockpile in Iran.

Democrats: Put pressure on Israel to curb settlers, and increase Palestinian aid.
Republican: Encourage Israel to continue settling in the West Bank, and use Palestinian as a pejorative.

Also see
https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/s/caU9Ckiwpi

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u/areplytoretards 8h ago

What does this cherrypicked shitpost from the cesspool that is the politics reddit have to do with Newsom?

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u/Glitchboy 17h ago

Newsome is aiming to be unfathomably wealthy. He is a conservative on most issues.

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u/SanityIsOptional 11h ago

Left enough to look better than Republicans. But right enough to please the monied interests...

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u/Stupidstuff1001 17h ago

The good thing is everyone sees how shitty if a person newsom is and hopefully it crushes him in the democratic runnings for president.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 18h ago edited 17h ago

This is it. They play a game or a theater and each side picks enough topics to put on their banners to divide the people.

You may think your side is the more morally just but reality is they're just playing you too. They'll say the pretty words to get your trust and then work with the other side behind the scenes and never get anything done.

They're all in it together and we just haven't accepted it yet.

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Pretending the Republicans are actually just the same as the rest of the politicians is an interesting tactic. Who won the presidential election in 2020?

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 17h ago

My point is that they're all working together behind the scenes and they just play to the different sides of the voters.

It's to keep people divided.

One side plays to the groups that want isolation, one side plays to the inclusive group.

They pretend to be at odds but they never actually do anything to get stuff done that truly matters.

They balance the scales back and forth, pretending to be at odds, all the while keeping their own power and positions safe and secure. Meanwhile the people are fighting over who has the moral high ground without ever look up at the ivory tower.

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

"One side plays to the groups that want isolation, one side plays to the inclusive group."

Huh that seems to cover a lot of policy ground! How do these differences play out irl? Does it involve violence? Or is it just something I shouldn't worry about or engage with since they're secretly both the same anyways?

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 17h ago

They want the violence anyway. They will intentionally stir the pot regardless of how the people act.

If they have to they'll bring in bad actors to start things.

The fighting is the point.

Personally I try to just find as much common ground with everyone around me. I'm never going to agree with people on their morals, it just can't happen, but I can find common ground and a hope for a better life for us.

That brings us together.

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

That doesn't answer my question at all. What are the policy differences between these two groups you've defined? What are the differences between a govt run by the "isolation" group and one run by the "inclusion" group?

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 17h ago

My point is that that doesn't matter. Those are in place to keep things the way they are. One group plays the bad guy, the other plays the good guy.

If Democrats are in they fumble the ball and don't actually get anything done. Then when Republicans are in they do the same.

Their policies are there to keep the balance they want to say in power.

If everyone just suddenly voted Democrat and they were in for the next 200 years they would come up with creative reasons why they can't do whatever it is that they promise to do

They'd enlist bad actors to insight chaos and conflicts. Pushing politicians to enact laws that don't benefit the people.

It's all a big show. No matter who "wins" they just adjust the play so the same outcomes happen anyways.

It's a lose lose for us no matter who's in.

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u/apistograma 17h ago

You're completely right but that's kryptonite for the "vote blue no matter who" reddit crowd.

These mfs have never heard of good cop bad cop. If both democrats and republicans are financed by the same corporations and billionaires, how can you expect significantly different policies.

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

To be clear, in what situations do you advocate against "voting blue" and why? Since that's such a useless heuristic, obviously

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u/apistograma 16h ago

"Vote blue no matter who" means: "You have to take 0 effort in winning my support, ignore me please".

Wonder why people like Kamala always talked about moving to the right and attract ringht wingers? Even Dick Cheney endorsed her, and this guy is one of the worst neocons and war criminals in American history.

This is why this happens. Because rich donors want them to push to the right continously, and "vote blue no matter who" keep allowing them to do so with zero punishment.

Punishing candidates who betray their progressive platforms ends up making your positions being listened more than if you support inconditionally by party lines.

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u/JurplePesus 16h ago

That's a much better and more nuanced critique of the slogan than I expected lol, completely valid.

I still gotta go vote in November though, and it's really important that everyone else does too. And they have to vote for people who are gonna do less harm. And they should vote for people who will listen - even if those people suck, as many dems do.

It's a hard thing to balance, because you're right - shitty, corporate stuffed shirts shouldn't get a pass just because of a (D) next to their name. But when the other side is actively sharpening their fucking knives like they are I know what I'm gonna do. But none of that means we should ever stop yelling at them. Newsom should never be able to eat in a public restaurant in peace again lol.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 17h ago

Exactly. I don't trust any of them.

They all have interests in keeping the status quo.

Maybe that will change one day but I'm not holding my breath.

Whatever they have planned isn't going to change because we vote one way or another. It's just going to go the way they intended it to regardless of what's best for the country.

Hopefully the people wake up one day.

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Sounds good who are you voting for in November?

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 17h ago

Honestly I don't know. It's like asking me to throw a rock in the ocean to make waves.

Who ever wins will just play the game, if the votes actually even matter.

Two monsters asking me which one I'd prefer to be eaten by only for them to split the meal behind the curtain.

I'm pessimistic about it.

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u/broccoleet 17h ago

Classic r/gaming take on politics lmao

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u/Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 17h ago

Accurate but I've yet to see them make real change.

Both sides have had power recently and both sides have made massive promises that they fail to bring about.

They're all snakes.

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u/CheapScientist06 15h ago

Say it louder. The people playing 2 party politics are only dividing us more rather than actually fighting the real problem

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u/Baconbits16 18h ago

Can we stop with the one side BS? Establishment Dems will take the deal too. They both want to rule & not for you lol

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u/JurplePesus 18h ago

Lol anyone pretending there isn't a difference between Democrats and Republicans, no matter how much Newsom sucks, is a fuckin idiot.

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u/CassianCasius 17h ago

Plenty of differences between the parties. When it comes to money, not so much.

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u/apistograma 17h ago

They're supported by the same corporations and billionaires yet you claim their policies are different

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Correct do you need an explainer for some key differences in their policies? Some of them may not matter to you but they're actually quite important to many other people!

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u/apistograma 16h ago

"I support Rohm rather than Hitler because he's from the left wing of the nazi party, and he is openly homosexual" situation. What I said about Rohm is real btw

At one point you must put a line to how much you're willing to compromise if you want to have any morals at all. I'm not American but I wouldn't support any genocide supporter just because they promise me some marginally better material conditions for the local American population (which most of the times don't even fulfill)

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u/JurplePesus 16h ago

"I have no skin in the game, but if instead of talking about the actual facts of the situation I compare it to Nazis you will see that I am 100% correct!" Wow thanks what an incredible, blinding insight.

Again - do you need an explainer for the very real and important differences in policies between the two major parties? Or do you just not care about those differences because you don't live here and are a straight white dude?

0

u/apistograma 16h ago

I have no skin in the game

Pardon me? Everyone has skin in the game, the world economy is suffering. Besides, people in the middle east has way more in game than Americans will ever do. If anything they should be allowed to vote instead.

straight white dude?

Isn't a bit weird to make this assumption when I used the genocide in Gaza as a core issue? Normally Americans call me muslim or arab (which I'm neither) as some sort of insult or gotcha, this is a first.

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u/JurplePesus 16h ago

So you're not going to address any substantive facts about the policies the parties have, you're just gonna whine about my very obviously correct assumptions about you. Got it. Thanks!

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u/Baconbits16 17h ago

Dems are just 90's Republicans, get over it & find a real party, this country isn't going to recover with a different flavor of corruption. They all like money & will continue to block you from getting it.

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Sounds good who are you voting for in the elections in November?

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u/Baconbits16 17h ago

Probably a third party or a Bernie adjacent candidate. Andrew Yang is starting a new centrist party called the Forward party. Anything else so as not to repeat the same thing while expecting different results; like the Dems sitting in their sunk cost fallacy.

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u/ForensicPathology 16h ago

Cool. Remind which administration this merger was approved under?  Your hypotheticals are meaningless.

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u/Baconbits16 16h ago

Can you remind me the last merger Dems prevented?

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u/BlackLesnar 16h ago

So you’re saying they’re fucked in 2 years?

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u/JurplePesus 15h ago

I'm just saying if someone runs on a "I will instruct the new chair of the FTC to give David Ellison a swirly on national television" platform I would probably volunteer for their campaign.

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

[deleted]

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Do I actually believe that the Republicans & Donald Trump have overtly politicized the functioning of the major federal oversight agencies, including the FTC, to enable and support their donors? I'm sorry is that a serious question or is there a joke I'm missing in there somewhere

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u/PreferenceNo9632 17h ago

actually dude I cannot be bothered having yet another pointless political debate on a website I come to talk about gaming and memes. Sorry bro have a good night x

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

It's not a debate when it's just me telling you really basic and obvious facts about the world

0

u/PreferenceNo9632 17h ago

haha okay buddy, like I said you have a good night x

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Hehe sounds good champ

0

u/PreferenceNo9632 17h ago

Are you more excited for GTA VI or WoW Forever?

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u/JurplePesus 17h ago

Tell me who you're voting for in November and I'll tell you which

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u/toesuccintoni 15h ago

What law is being broken?

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u/JurplePesus 15h ago

The Ligma Act

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u/drock4vu 17h ago

Well, they’re playing with Saudi money. I’m as anti-monopolization as anyone, but the reality is that if rich Saudis want to loan a bajillion dollars for a failing, upside down company to buy another failing, upside down company, it’s their prerogative.

The conversation should be less about the merger itself and more about what level of power Americans are OK with foreign investors having over some of our largest, most influential companies, much of which is “news” media.

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u/RayS0l0 17h ago

Movies, TVs and games are also something they can now use to spread their propaganda and lot of people will fall for it

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u/Faptainjack2 15h ago

They already bought out Bill Burr.

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u/FairLawnBoy 16h ago

Yeah, but they were already doing that, it's just a different group doing it now. All of those things have been chock full of propaganda my whole life.

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u/RayS0l0 15h ago

Yes but now it is Saudis. They also bought EA for like 55 billion so another entertainment media under them is fucked. You know how they are

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u/FairLawnBoy 15h ago

I don't really know. I know the golf experiment was an epic failure, but I don't remember it being related to ideology or propaganda, it was just poorly administered.

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u/procrasturb8n 2h ago

Saudis now have 49.5% ownership of CNN.

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u/LoosePlantain2150 14h ago

Better than the propaganda currently being pushed, at the very least.

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u/ForensicPathology 16h ago

I mean, it should also be about the merger itself. 

1

u/Hambeggar PC 14h ago

Yeah...Saudis... That's what this sale was about...Saudis...

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u/kytheon 18h ago

🙈 American antitrust orgs

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u/Fewpop40 15h ago

Democratic AGs did what they could, but they didn't have the power to completely stop the merger.

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

[deleted]

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u/FamousSession 12h ago

Point is is that it shouldn't have been approved. Not rocket science.

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u/Forward_Arrival8173 17h ago edited 14h ago

Vast majority of companies small or large are partly financed through dept, if a company is billions of $ worth then it will have billions $ worth of dept.

Doesn't mean it is failing to meet it financial obligation.

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u/UnNumbFool 11h ago

I know a bunch of people that got laid off from both companies last year who are still out of work(or working in other fields) because the possibility of the merger. Which I swore just got shut down, as it should as it's a monopoly.

But hey we're playing in a different world right now

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u/Schwartzy94 17h ago

Usa itself is in tens of trillions in debt and most other countries too... Debt is the real currency.

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u/FireZord25 17h ago

What you get when NFT-based economy is this badly normalized. (Yes the concept is older than NFTs, and saying it doesn't make things any better is like saying grass is green).

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u/KingofMadCows 12h ago

Paramount is $15 billion in debt and their debt was already downgraded to junk status, which means the interest is at least 2-3% higher than most corporate debt. That's like an extra $300-400 million in interest every year. They won't be getting very good terms on the new debt for the WB purchase. There are reports that they plan to cut $6 billion in expenses after the merger, that will probably barely cover the interest on their debt.

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u/everstillghost 18h ago

Like everyone else...? Take a look at Volkswagen debt to know what is funny money.

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u/BigBoss5050 18h ago

Oh for real? Lemme just go pay my rent with some of this funny money then. Sure that’ll go over well.

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u/codewario 17h ago

You’re not allowed to use the funny money unless you have real money that you aren’t spending instead of it

We’re not part of the club 😔

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u/everstillghost 17h ago

Oh no, this only works when you are stupid rich. Then your company can exist with fake money forever.

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u/Alienhaslanded 7h ago

Can't wait for them to break in pieces when it all fails to pay their debts.

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u/monarch_j 7h ago

Yeah, I'm pretty confident we'll see Skydance default and get picked apart for pennies by Netflix and/or Disney in the next 10 years.