It's the latest potential fusion of some of America's largest media brands. For consumers, it could change how they get news, watch television and movies, and stream live events. 

And, in the media industry, it could mark another consolidation among the giants. 

Skydance — the film studio behind the Top Gun and Mission: Impossible franchises — recently closed an $8 billion deal to purchase Paramount's assets. 

The company is run by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, who briefly became the world's richest man.  

Paramount — the television company that runs CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, and the Paramount+ streaming service — initially agreed to the deal in July 2024. 

Now, the new company wants even more assets under its wing. The offer would take over all of Warner Bro's properties, including the cable networks and movie studio, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Warner Bros Discovery owns the DC Comics franchise, HBO (and its streaming service), CNN, TNT, HGTV, and the Food Network. 

The deal is not yet official and would require federal regulatory approval to be completed. 

Media watchers have been predicting that major production companies would have to start joining forces. 

For years, consumers have been trading in their cable programming for separate streaming services. But in the past year, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV have all raised their prices on consumers. 

In conversations with the Daily Mail, subscribers have increasingly threatened to cancel their monthly streaming plans as they become more expensive. 

Mergers could bring more of the creative properties under the same umbrella, making the studio projects less expensive for consumers. 

Larger production companies could also help counter new players: entertainment studios are dealing with fresh competition from social media streamers like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. 

The changing dynamics have forced media executives to rethink their businesses.  

On Wednesday, David Zaslav, the top boss at Warner Bros Discovery, announced that his company will attempt to split into two: a global TV network and another streaming and production studio.