DOMINANT ANGLE
Athens first notes the industrial balance of power: the Greek press presents the merger as the birth of a more powerful competitor, snatched from Netflix by David Ellison.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
To Vima: Paramount Skydance finalized the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday for $110 billion, after a battle with Netflix.
- 02
The new Skydance group brings together two of the five major Hollywood studios, CBS, TNT, Paramount+, and HBO Max; David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, from Mattel, will co-lead it.
- 03
Naftemporiki portrays Ellison as a friend of Donald Trump and notes that CNN will come under the same roof as CBS and Paramount+.
ANALYSIS
Athens, October 7, 2026. Greek dailies are covering the finalization of Warner Bros. Discovery's acquisition by Paramount Skydance as a media industry event, primarily viewed in terms of power and competition.
For To Vima, which cites Bloomberg, Paramount Skydance concluded the $110 billion deal on Tuesday, "one of the largest media mergers in history," after a "tough battle" with Netflix and overcoming competition law-related appeals. The newspaper details the scope of the new group, named Skydance: two of the five major Hollywood studios, the "Harry Potter" and "Mission: Impossible" franchises, dozens of channels, from CBS to TNT, and two platforms, Paramount+ and HBO Max.
The newspaper emphasizes governance. David Ellison completed the merger of his company Skydance Media with Paramount in August 2025; he now shares general management with Ynon Kreiz, who came from Mattel. Kreiz will manage daily operations, while Ellison retains creative vision, strategy, and relations with artists. To Vima quotes his statement: "Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire sector."
Naftemporiki, in its finance section, adopts a more vivid tone. The title announces that "Hollywood is changing" and the text asserts that Ellison "literally snatched" Warner from Netflix. The newspaper specifies that Paramount belongs to Skydance, a company of "Donald Trump's friend," and lists the titles now reunited, from "Harry Potter" to "Sinners" and "Friends," from "Top Gun" to "The Godfather," with CNN under the same roof as Paramount+ and CBS. It repeats Ellison's promise to build "a stronger competitor" that rewards shareholders.
The two articles differ on the price: $110 billion for To Vima, $81 billion for Naftemporiki. Neither dwells, in the provided passages, on job cuts, the group's debt, or subscription price hikes mentioned elsewhere. The Greek reading remains that of a strategic move between American giants, viewed from afar, without direct national stakes.
