Paramount's Warner Bros. Deal Could Upend Canadian TV
The Hollywood Reporter • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Paramount Skydance, owner of Paramount+, won a bidding war to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns HBO Max, potentially leading to a merger of HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming services in Canada.
- This merger could reshape the Canadian TV landscape by increasing the dominance of U.S. streaming giants like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, potentially sidelining local private broadcasters reliant on American imports.
- Bell Media currently holds a multiyear agreement to feature HBO Max content on its Crave platform, but the upcoming WBD acquisition by Paramount may complicate future licensing renewals.
- Rogers Sports and Media secured Canadian rights to popular WBD lifestyle and factual channels starting in 2025, taking over from Bell
