Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery WBD were likely cheering on Wednesday as shares had their biggest single-day gain of 29%. Perhaps, it’s sports fans who should also be cheering as a potential combination of Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance PSKY could create a sports juggernaut.
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Assets
After completing its merger earlier this year, Paramount Skydance acquired the seven-year rights to UFC from TKO Group Holdings TKO. The $7.7 billion deal landed the rights away from The Walt Disney Company’s DIS sports unit ESPN.
A potential combination of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance could better compete with ESPN, creating a new sports home for fans. This could potentially boost overall advertising revenue, offer opportunities to cross-promote platforms, and establish a universal streaming home, ultimately leading to higher prices.
Together, the two companies will have rights to games across the four major North American professional sports (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL).
Paramount Skydance has rights to NFL games on Sundays that air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Warner Bros. has rights to MLB games on TBS through 2028, NBA games for the 2024-2025 season, and NHL games on TNT, truTV, and streaming on HBO Max.
As part of a settlement, Warner Bros. will also have international rights to NBA games and access to highlights for content and will also produce the