{"id":644577,"date":"2026-05-15T11:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/644577\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:32:10","slug":"paramounts-warner-takeover-to-breach-comcast-skyshowtime-venture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/644577\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount\u2019s Warner Takeover To Breach Comcast SkyShowtime Venture"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: Paramount<\/a>\u2019s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery<\/a> (WBD) is expected to create complications for its SkyShowtime<\/a> partnership with Comcast, Deadline can reveal.<\/p>\n

\n\tIndustry sources said Paramount\u2019s proposed ownership of HBO Max will likely put the David Ellison-run company in breach of its joint venture agreement for SkyShowtime, a streaming service available in 22 European markets, boasting more than 9 million subscribers, per insiders.<\/p>\n

\n\tSkyShowtime and Paramount declined to comment. Comcast did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline understands that the 50-50 pact between Paramount and Comcast means they do not compete with SkyShowtime in the territories where the streamer is available.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount+ is accessible in seven European markets, but there is no overlap with SkyShowtime. Indeed, Paramount+ withdrew from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland in 2022 to make way for SkyShowtime. Comcast has not rolled out Peacock internationally, and SkyShowtime is not available in the UK, where the company owns Sky.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount absorbing HBO Max would significantly change this dynamic. HBO Max operates in 21 of SkyShowtime\u2019s 22 markets, including key territories such as Spain and the Nordics. Ellison has signalled that he intends to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max<\/a>. \u201cThat would go against the whole joint venture thing,\u201d said a well-placed person.<\/p>\n

\n\tSources close to SkyShowtime said Paramount\u2019s WBD deal had created palpable uncertainty among employees, leading to speculation about how the mega-merger will affect SkyShowtime\u2019s shareholder structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tChange is anticipated, with sources suggesting that it would make sense for Paramount to take over the SkyShowtime arrangement, or at least become the dominant partner. Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh indicated as recently as March that the company was focused on its U.S. streaming strategy.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA scenario in which Paramount assumes full control of the [SkyShowtime] platform and integrates it into its operations in EMEA is increasingly viewed as a likely strategic outcome,\u201d said a source familiar with the thinking.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount is currently seeking regulatory approval for the WBD deal and has said that it expects the acquisition to close in the third quarter of this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kristofer<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKristofer Hivju has SkyShowtime original \u2018Where the Sun Always Shines\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSkyShowtime<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline revealed last year that Paramount and Comcast<\/a> have invested at least $1 billion into SkyShowtime since its launch, but sources said they do get a return on their investment because the streamer buys their content and generates subscription and ad revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSkyShowtime is stocked with series like Sky Studios\u2019 The Day of the Jackal and Taylor Sheridan\u2019s Yellowstone, which has been a driver of subscriptions. It also hosts originals, such as Swedish drama Where the Sun Always Shines, which recently cast Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju<\/a>. The streamer made an operating loss of \u20ac543.7M ($632M) in 2024, which was 3% down on 2023, when its losses stood at \u20ac561.9M.<\/p>\n

\n\tSkyShowtime is based out of Sky\u2019s campus on the outskirts of central London, but brought together its 300 employees for an all-hands offsite meeting in Budapest in January. Those present said CEO Monty Sarhan was in an ebullient mood, high-fiving employees, talking up the company\u2019s performance, and committing to a new set of leadership pledges.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to a copy of the commitments seen by Deadline, they included the pledge: \u201cTry to maintain a positive and optimistic outlook, even in the face of challenges. Things are never as good \u2013 or as bad \u2013 as we think they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSources said this has not been straightforward amid shareholder uncertainty, and that some internal employee mood metrics have been below benchmarks. SkyShowtime\u2019s position is that employee feedback after the Budapest gathering was \u201coverwhelmingly positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA Paramount spokesperson said: \u201cSkyShowtime continues to operate under its established joint venture agreement. We don\u2019t comment on speculation about contractual matters between shareholders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Paramount\u2019s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is expected to create complications for its SkyShowtime…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,4208,133631,92,10343],"class_list":["post-644577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-paramount","tag-skyshowtime","tag-tv","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}