LA Screenings: Buyers weigh Paramount-WBD

Paramount’s proposed purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery has become a live issue for international TV buyers gathering in Los Angeles this week, as the annual LA Screenings market opens against the backdrop of a pending $110 billion media deal. Deadline reported on May 15 that buyers arriving for meetings were weighing how the transaction could alter who sells shows, how rights are packaged and whether fewer major studio suppliers will remain in the market. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a definitive merger agreement on Feb. 27, with Paramount offering $31 a share in cash for WBD and targeting a close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to approvals. ### Why are buyers talking about the merger at a TV market? LA Screenings is an international television market held in Los Angeles each May, and organizers say it draws more than 1,000 senior content buyers from around the world. The event’s independent market ran on May 14 and May 15 at the SLS Beverly Hills, with the Hollywood studio screenings scheduled to begin on May 16. (deadline.com) Deadline reported that buyers passing through Los Angeles were discussing not only this year’s slates but also how a merged Paramount-WBD could reshape future negotiations. The publication said some buyers were comparing the situation with Disney’s purchase of Fox’s entertainment assets, while also describing the Paramount-WBD combination as potentially broader in its effect on distribution and programming. (lascreenings.org) ### What are buyers worried could change first? Deadline said buyers’ immediate questions centered on licensing, distribution and the number of sales teams they may face in future markets. One unnamed buyer told the outlet that Paramount and Warner Bros. “do business differently,” while another said the market could be seeing a final Warner Bros. LA Screening as a standalone seller. (deadline.com) Those concerns track with the structure of the deal announced in February. Paramount said at the time that the combined company would invest in both its own platforms and “third-party distribution platforms,” language that matters to overseas buyers who depend on studio output deals and package sales. Paramount also said the combined company would be committed to producing at least 30 theatrical films annually, a pledge that buyers cited in Deadline’s report as they tried to gauge how much content would still be available outside company-owned services. (deadline.com) ### What is Warner Bros. Discovery telling customers right now? David Decker, president of global content sales at Warner Bros. Discovery, told Deadline that buyers at the screenings would hear “the consistent message that it is business as usual.” He added: “You can rely on our shows and movies for your platform.” (paramount.com) Warner Bros. Discovery is arriving at the market with titles that Deadline said include DC Universe series “Lanterns,” “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe,” and “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” a comedy series linking Larry David and former President Barack Obama. Deadline said the company also wanted to signal continued support for both free-to-air broadcasters and streaming buyers. (deadline.com) ### What do the confirmed deal terms say? Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery said on Feb. 27 that Paramount would acquire WBD in a cash deal valuing the transaction at an enterprise value of $110 billion. Paramount said WBD shareholders would receive $31 a share in cash, and that the boards of both companies had unanimously approved the agreement. (deadline.com) Reuters reported on Feb. 27 that the agreement followed a bidding contest in which Netflix declined to match Paramount’s latest offer. Reuters also reported that the deal includes about $29 billion in debt and faces regulatory review, including scrutiny from California Attorney General Rob Bonta. (paramount.com) ### Why does timing matter this week? May 2026 is when LA Screenings traditionally sits just ahead of the U.S. broadcast upfront presentations, making it a point in the calendar when international buyers are already assessing studio pipelines and rights strategies. The merger question has landed at the same moment those buyers are deciding what to commit to for the coming season. (money.usnews.com) Paramount said in February that the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory clearances and other conditions. That leaves the current screenings taking place while the companies are still separate, with the next formal milestone likely to come from regulators or the companies themselves before the targeted Q3 close. (paramount.com) (lascreenings.org)