Paramount Offers $30 Per Share Acquisition Proposal to Warner Bros.

"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:This weekend's most notable new streaming content is upcoming fantasy drama television series "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," a prequel to "Game of Thrones," whose first episode will be streamable on HBO Maxon Sunday. Meanwhile, Paramount+users can catch the first two episodes of science fiction series "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy," while Peacocksubscribers can watch spy thriller series "Ponies," starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson.PARAMOUNT/WARNER BROS.:On Monday, Paramount Skydance sent a letter to shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery outlining Paramount's next steps for delivering its "superior, fully financed, all-cash offer of $30 per share to WBD shareholders." The letter includes plans for Paramount to nominate directors for election to Warner Bros. Discovery's board. "WBD shareholders need this information to make an informed investment decision on our offer - and importantly, Delaware law has consistently required that such information be provided to shareholders," the letter reads. "Following the process prescribed under Delaware law, we filed suit this morning in Delaware Chancery Court to ask the court to simply direct WBD to provide this information so that WBD shareholders have what they need to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to tender their shares into our offer."Following the announcement, Warner Bros. Discovery told Bloomberg in a statement that Paramount is "seeking to distract" with the company's "meritless" lawsuit. Additionally, Bloomberg later reported that Netflixis working on revised terms for its Warner Bros. Discovery proposal and has discussed making its offer all cash for the purchase of the company's studios and streaming businesses, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg's Josh Sisco and Lucas Shaw. The updated terms are designed to expedite a sale process that is expected to take months to close and has faced opposition both from politicians and competing bidder Paramount Skydance.Meanwhile, Semafor reported on Wednesday that representatives from Paramount Skydance and Netflix both met with the European Commission on Tuesday. Regulators appear to be deeply concerned with Netflix's concentration potential in several member states as both companies vie for a Warner Bros. Discovery deal.NETFLIX/SONY:On Thursday, Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainmentannounced a global Pay-1 licensing deal. In the exclusive multi-year agreement, SPE's feature films will stream on Netflix worldwide following their full theatrical and home entertainment windows. The new global Pay-1 arrangement will roll out gradually starting later this year as individual territory rights become available, with full global availability on Netflix in early 2029. As part of this deal, Netflix will also license rights to select SPE feature film and television library titles. Netflix currently has Pay-1 rights to SPE's feature films in select territories including the U.S., Germany, and across Southeast Asia. "Our members all over the world love movies and giving them exclusive access to Sony's much loved films adds incredible value to their subscriptions," said Lauren Smith, Vice President of Licensing and Programming Strategy at Netflix.PARAMOUNT CFO:Paramount Skydance announced that Dennis Cinelli will join the company's executive leadership team as CFO, effective January 15, and as such has resigned his Board of Directors seat. Cinelli was Head of Mobility at Uber for the U.S. and Canada and CFO of Scale AI. Prior to Uber, Cinelli was with G.E. Ventures as CFO. Cinelli will succeed Andrew Warren who has served as EVP and Interim CFO since June 2025. After concluding his tenure as Interim CFO, Warren will continue to offer counsel to the company's leadership as a strategic advisor. Paramount also announced the addition of Andrew Campion, currently Chairman and CEO of Unrivaled Sports, as an independent director to the company's Board of Directors, effective as of January 13.COMCAST UPGRADE:On Monday, BofA upgraded Comcast to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $37, up from $31. The media and cable landscape enters 2026 amid significant structural change, which sets the stage for "a transformative year" marked by industry consolidation, evolving distribution strategies, and emerging opportunities across content, technology, and live experiences, the analyst tells investors. The firm believes strategic action for NBCU is "a necessity" post the Versantspin and recent deals.PRIME VIDEO/M6+:Starting Wednesday, all Amazon Primemembers in France can access M6+ free of charge and "enjoy the diverse editorial content it offers: the M6, W9, 6ter, and Gulli channels, live or on demand, as well as content exclusive to the platform. In total, it offers more than 30,000 hours of content," M6 Group announced. "We are delighted to welcome M6's high-quality programming to Prime Video. Adding the M6+ catalog to our service is an important step toward our goal of becoming the leading entertainment destination for our customers," said Elisabetta Carruba, Director of Prime Video Channels, Europe.STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the space include Disney, Apple, FuboTV, Fox, Roku, and AMC Networks.