By Isnaini Azizah 
The financial metrics of the deal are stark. The WBD board ultimately favored Paramount Skydance’s bid of $31 per share, a significant premium over the $27.75 per share offer submitted by Netflix. On paper, the decision aligns with the fiduciary duty of the board to maximize value for its investors. However, the human cost of this premium is already becoming apparent. CNBC conducted interviews with 10 WBD employees across various divisions, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the merger and the high stakes involved. The consensus among these insiders was not one of celebration, but of profound anxiety. "It’s fair to say people are deflated by the news," remarked one long-term WBD executive, capturing a sentiment of exhaustion following years of corporate restructuring, layoffs, and shifting strategies.
The primary driver of this fear is the inevitable redundancy that comes with a merger of two companies with such high levels of operational overlap. Unlike the Netflix bid, which was viewed by many as a "cleaner" acquisition, the Paramount-WBD merger brings together two aging giants that possess nearly identical infrastructures. Both companies operate massive theatrical film studios, sprawling cable networks, global news organizations, and competing streaming platforms. To justify the $111 billion enterprise value of the deal, Paramount executives have already signaled an aggressive cost-cutting regime. Chief Strategy Officer Andy Gordon has publicly stated that the combined entity aims to slash $6 billion in costs by eliminating "duplicative operations" across back-office functions, finance, legal, technology, and corporate infrastructure. For a workforce that has already endured thousands of job cuts since the 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, the prospect of another round of "synergy-driven" layoffs is demoralizing.
The preference for the Netflix offer among the rank-and-file was rooted in the preservation of the company’s creative soul. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos had reportedly promised a "hands-off" approach that would have allowed WBD’s crown jewels to retain their distinct identities. Under the Netflix proposal, the theatrical business—the historic Warner Bros. Pictures—would have remained a separate entity, and HBO Max would have continued as an independent, premium streaming service. Perhaps most importantly for the stability of the workforce, Netflix had no interest in acquiring WBD’s linear cable assets. This would have meant that employees at CNN, TNT Sports, and the legacy Discovery networks would have been spun off into a standalone, publicly traded company, effectively shielding them from the consolidation-related layoffs that now seem inevitable under the Paramount Skydance banner.
The regulatory environment adds another layer of complexity and risk to the deal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has already cautioned that the merger "is not a done deal," emphasizing the rigorous scrutiny it will face from antitrust regulators in both the United States and Europe. The concentration of media power in a single entity—combining the libraries of Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the news reach of CBS and CNN, and the sports rights of CBS Sports and TNT—is certain to raise red flags regarding market competition. WBD CEO David Zaslav, in an all-hands meeting held on Friday, acknowledged these hurdles. According to leaked audio obtained by Business Insider, Zaslav expressed a measure of empathy for employees feeling "whiplash" from the back-and-forth negotiations. He also noted a significant contingency plan: if regulators block the deal, WBD is set to receive a $7 billion breakup fee. "If it doesn’t close, we get $7 billion, and we get back to work," Zaslav told his staff, attempting to frame a potential regulatory failure as a financial win for the company’s balance sheet.
The future of CNN has become a particularly flashpoint of concern within the organization. While Mark Thompson currently leads the news network, the merger introduces a potential leadership clash with Bari Weiss, the Editor-in-Chief at CBS News. Industry analysts suggest it is plausible that Weiss could be given oversight of a combined news division, a prospect that has sent shockwaves through the CNN newsroom. Reports from late 2025 indicated that Paramount CEO David Ellison had promised Donald Trump that he would implement sweeping changes at CNN if he gained control of the network. Three CNN employees told CNBC that there is "rampant fear" regarding how Weiss might alter the network’s editorial tone and anchor lineup. Mark Thompson attempted to quell these fears in a company memo, urging staff not to "jump to conclusions." However, the political undertones of the merger continue to fuel internal speculation about the network’s future independence.
In the realm of sports, the merger presents a complex tapestry of synergy and culture clash. TNT Sports, led by Luis Silberwasser, has successfully pivoted toward a younger, digitally-savvy audience through investments in platforms like Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. Conversely, CBS Sports has historically catered to a more traditional, older demographic associated with broadcast television. While there is concern about "employee duplications" as Silberwasser and CBS Sports President David Berson begin the integration process, there is also a silver lining. WBD and CBS have a long history of collaboration on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, a partnership that has fostered a level of mutual respect and familiarity between the two teams. Furthermore, after WBD’s high-profile loss of NBA media rights in 2024, the merger with CBS—which holds rights to the NFL and The Masters—instantly restores WBD’s status as a dominant player in the sports broadcasting arena, albeit as part of a larger conglomerate.
Creatively, the "too many cooks" theory is a major concern for the entertainment divisions. The leadership roster of the combined company is top-heavy with executives who are accustomed to being the ultimate decision-makers. Jeff Shell, the President of Paramount and former CEO of NBCUniversal; Cindy Holland, the Chair of Direct to Consumer and a 18-year Netflix veteran; and George Cheeks, the Chair of TV, all represent a formidable block of leadership that must now integrate with WBD’s existing creative heads. Such an environment often leads to "development hell," where projects are bogged down by layers of corporate approval and conflicting creative visions, potentially stifling the innovation that both Warner Bros. and Paramount have historically been known for.
Finally, the financial health of the new entity remains a point of deep skepticism. The merger brings with it a staggering $64 billion in debt, part of a total enterprise value of $111 billion. Many WBD employees pointed out that the company has spent the last several years struggling under the weight of the debt incurred during the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger. The prospect of doubling down on a high-leverage strategy in an era of high interest rates and declining linear television revenue is daunting. Employees noted the psychological security that would have come with being acquired by Netflix, a company with a market capitalization exceeding $400 billion and a relatively lean balance sheet. In contrast, the Paramount Skydance entity, with a market valuation of approximately $15 billion prior to the merger announcement, feels like a much smaller life raft in a very turbulent ocean. As the industry watches this "merger of equals" take shape, the prevailing question is whether the combined scale of WBD and Paramount will be enough to compete with the tech-native giants, or if the weight of its own debt and internal culture clashes will eventually sink the storied institutions.