DOMINANT ANGLE
Bogotá is measuring the operation by the numbers: $70 billion in revenue, promised savings, and rivalry with Netflix, YouTube, Disney, and Amazon.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Skydance, resulting from the merger, aims for around $70 billion in annual revenue and more than $6 billion in cost savings over three years (Portafolio).
- 02
The deal totals nearly $111 billion including debt; Paramount submitted nine offers and outbid Netflix in February (La República).
- 03
To settle the states' complaint, Ellison agreed to an independent editorial board for CNN and $1.5 billion in additional investments in film over five years (La República).
ANALYSIS
Bogotá, October 7, 2026. Portafolio and La República, Colombia's two leading economic dailies, are treating the closure of the acquisition as a market operation above all. Paramount Skydance finalized the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, October 6. The new group, named Skydance, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SKYD". Portafolio highlights that it brings together the Paramount and Warner Bros. studios, the CBS News and CNN channels, and the HBO and CBS platforms. David Ellison becomes president and CEO, alongside Ynon Kreiz, former head of Mattel, co-CEO in charge of daily operations.
The amounts are in the spotlight, with figures varying from one article to another. Portafolio and La República report around $70 billion in annual revenue for the new entity. A second article in La República mentions a deal valued at $81 billion, close to $111 billion including debt. Warner shareholders will receive approximately $31 per share in cash. Portafolio notes that Skydance aims for more than $6 billion in cost savings over three years and that Ellison plans to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max in the long term.
La República describes the battle for the offer: Paramount made nine offers and won out in February over Netflix, which withdrew. It also cites the franchises brought together, including Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Top Gun, and The Godfather. According to the newspaper, this catalog should strengthen competition with Netflix, YouTube, Disney, and Amazon. Skydance claims that the merger will allow it to compete with the major tech companies.
The legal and political aspects are reported, without becoming the center of the story. The green light came less than a week after a California federal judge approved an agreement between Paramount and 12 US states that had tried to block the merger on antitrust grounds. Portafolio recalls that in June, the Donald Trump administration had approved the deal without requiring any change to the business model. To resolve the complaint, Ellison accepted an independent editorial board to preserve the journalistic integrity of CNN and an additional investment of $1.5 billion in cinema over five years.
The production commitment is quantified: at least 30 films per year, then 32 after two years. La República mentions in one sentence that Hollywood figures have criticized the concentration of power and warned of possible job losses. Ellison's quote structures both texts: "Hoy es un día histórico, no solo para Skydance sino para toda nuestra industria".
