One of the biggest media mergers in history is complete, combining Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery into a new entertainment behemoth that owns many of the world’s biggest film and TV franchises – and the UK’s Channel 5.
Skydance CEO David Ellison, son of a tech billionaire and ally of Donald Trump, said he was creating a “next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology” to take on streaming giants such as Netflix.
It owns an extraordinary library of content, from the to , to , to .
Russell Brand at court for rape trial hearing
Russell Brand arrived at court on Tuesday for a hearing ahead of his rape and sexual assault trial.
The hearing
The actor and podcaster, 51, arrived at Southwark Crown Court in a black Mercedes on Tuesday morning, entering the court silently to begin two days of pre-trial hearings.
Brand has been accused by six women of sexual abuse allegations spanning 10 years from 1999 to 2009. He denies all allegations of non-consensual sexual activity.
What are the accusations?
- Brand is facing three charges of rape, three allegations of sexual assault and one charge of indecent assault.
- Prior hearings heard Brand accused of raping a woman in a hotel room at Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
- He was also accused of grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and forcing her into a sex act in a toilet.
- In a separate incident, a court previously heard Brand kissed and groped a radio worker after pushing her against a wall.
Brand’s response
I recognise that my sexual conduct in the past was selfish.
Brand, who has denied these allegations and is on bail during criminal proceedings, has said he “did not apply enough consideration, barely any, I suppose, really” to how his past sexual conduct “was affecting other people”.
His trial begins on Monday, 12 October, with the case expected to last up to 10 weeks.
What to know about widespread France school protests
Thousands of students, parents and trade unions are demonstrating across France to protest under-investment in high schools.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Why are the protests happening?
Investment in schools
France is facing mass protests as students demand more investment in schools.
Who is protesting?
The protests began last month, with Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL) calling for a national blockade.
Where are they?
Demonstrations have spread rapidly across 30 locations, almost half of schools being closed.
The current situation
Unions claim at and 90 per cent of universities were by the Ministry of Education as of Tuesday, with expected to turn out for the “biggest” day of unrest so far.
Over 5,000 people have been arrested since the increasingly violent protests began in the Paris region around 17 September, with more than 4,400 of those being children. Only 14 individuals have been remanded after being charged.
The cause
- Protesters have said the school system is plagued with a , and .
- USL said the protests are necessary because other actions “elicit no response” from the Government.
4 min read
Protesters injured
On Monday, a 15-year-old’s hand was blown off, reportedly by a sting-ball grenade, following confrontations between students and police in the northern town of Lens.
A 16-year-old boy also reportedly lost use of his right eye during the blockade of a school in the town of Tours.
The French Government said 215 students have been injured since the protests began.
5 min read
3 min read
French authorities respond
This upsurge in violence makes it virtually impossible to maintain the continuity of public education and is exposing staff and students to danger.
prime minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office
UK plague risk ‘low’ as case linked to disease in Russia
The risk of catching the plague remains “very low” in the UK, officials have said, as Russia continues to study the death of a woman linked to the disease.
3 min read
What happened?
- Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab technician in Irkutsk, died last week after contracting pneumonia from an “unknown” cause.
- Russian authorities quarantined a hospital to monitor contacts of Shipilova, an employee of a plague research institute in Siberia.
- They say they have found no evidence her illness was caused by pathogens she worked with, but media reports suggest she may have died of pneumonic plague.
What is plague?
Plague, a disease usually found in small mammals and their fleas, is no longer found in the UK but does occur in several countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
The disease is usually transmitted to humans from infected animals or fleas, but people can pass it on from coughing and sneezing.
If left untreated, it can cause rapid death unless treated with antibiotics.
3 min read
3 min read
The public health risk from to the wider UK population currently remains very low.
Chris Lewis, director of global health protection at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the agency is seeking information through International Health Regulations channels to verify the accuracy of the reports.
Minutes after the merger was complete on Tuesday Ellison said a slate of new movies would be made by the studio, including from the and Lord of the Rings universes.
But there are fears the merger will significantly reduce competition and diversity in the media – including in the UK, where the new company leapfrogs Sky to become the country’s third most-viewed TV network, once the companies’ more than 50 linear channels (including Channel 5) are added together.
And the new company’s mountain of debt potentially means cuts and layoffs will follow, especially in loss-making news channels.
More hobbits, wizards and heroes
Shortly after the merger was complete, staff got a long memo in their inbox from Ellison and Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
It promised they would build “a company that tells great stories in every genre, for audiences everywhere, on every platform”.
They pledged to make at least 30 movies a year, “pairing original stories from today’s most exciting filmmakers with beloved franchises like Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible, The Lord of the Rings, DC, Transformers and“.
In other words – more superheroes, wizards and hobbits. Or in corporate speak, “unlocking the full potential of our assets: an unmatched portfolio of brands [and] franchises”.
On TV, they said, expect “storytelling like Game of Thrones, Landman, NCIS, Tracker and“.
“David Ellison is trying to create a new media empire but on old Hollywood terms, and seeking to compete with these new digital titans of Netflix, Amazon, and Apple,” he said.
Who is David Ellison?
The UK government reviewed the merger’s impact on the British media landscape earlier this year: and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had concerns.
In a letter to Paramount and Skydance in June, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said Nandy wanted to ensure that “no one owner or voice has too much influence over public opinion or the political agenda”.
Ellison is the son of the world’s eighth-richest man, Oracle’s Larry Ellison. Ellison junior’s personal billion-dollar fortune is dwarfed by the estimated $185bn of his father, who personally guaranteed a large chunk of this week’s merger.
Because of the unclear influence of Ellison Snr, Forbes has declined to put Ellison Jr on its billionaires list.
Both Ellisons are considered allies of Donald Trump. The called the relationship “symbiotic”, reporting that Ellison Snr gave $45m to a political nonprofit group supporting Trump’s election efforts in 2024, with support continuing after the election. Ellison Jr hosted a dinner for the Trump administration in April and attended the UFC match on the White House grounds in June.
On Wednesday Ellison Jr said he had “a good relationship” with the Trump administration, but did not want to “politicise” the company and thought it was “important to talk to everybody on both sides of the aisle”.
Trump, asked about the merger on Wednesday, said “they’re terrific people, and it’s going to be a great company”.
Channel interference
According to the DCMS letter, Warner Bros owns 30 linear channels that broadcast in the UK, including CNN, TNT Sports and the Cartoon Network. Paramount owns 20, including Channel 5, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV.
DCMS analysis found that, combined, their viewing share (12.1%) would be greater than Sky and Channel 4, making them the third largest linear broadcaster in the UK by audience share. It also noted that the merger “could potentially lead to a loss of a significant presence in an already limited market for children’s linear content”.
The new company also has four streaming services with millions of subscribers in the UK: Discovery+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and 5. Ellison has already indicated he will merge HBO Max and Paramount+.
Nandy was also concerned the merger had “potential to result in a concentration of voices in international news programming within the UK. This might happen if, for example, Channel 5 News and CNN were to combine their US and international news programming or if a decision was made to stop broadcasting CNN International altogether.”
When Skydance took over Paramount last year and installed new leadership at CBS it sparked an internal revolt over claims of editorial interference.
Nevertheless the UK formally approved the merger in August, on several conditions including that Channel 5 will continued to operate as a free-to-air public broadcaster until at least 2034, with its news arm remaining editorially independent from CBS and CNN during that period.
On Tuesday CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked Ellison what changes he had in store for CNN, and Ellison did not directly answer, saying only that he “believes deeply in journalism [and] in complete and total editorial independence”.
Folkenflik noted that Ellison was “saying things that I think people are happy to hear and yet long term, he’s not making any firm promises”.
Cuts to come?
The memo obliquely acknowledged that cuts and layoffs are likely to follow the merger.
“We are also targeting at least $6 billion in synergies, which will make us leaner and more nimble and free up capital to invest in the stories, creators and technology that matter most,” it said.
Ellison said on Tuesday “most” of the savings would not come from job losses.
Folkenflik said the new company had “the power to drive up cost for the consumer”. Especially in the streaming area, he said, “it’s hard to believe those prices won’t go up”.
“I think the consumers are going to be hit,” he said.