As the world’s top international acquisitions executives passed through border control at LAX this week, they weren’t only getting their minds in gear for a week of LA Screenings, but were also thinking how Hollywood’s big merger might change their futures. With Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for $110B, the entire buying ecosystem could be set for an overhaul not seen in many years.
Many of those buyers were in situ when Disney bought Fox’s entertainment assets in 2018, so to see one studio snap up another is not an unprecedented scenario, but there’s a real sense the Par-WBD deal is different. What it will mean is almost entirely unknown right now, but many believe it will ultimately shrink the number of studio vendors at LA Screenings of the future.
“We’ve had to deal with this in the past when we had deals with Disney and 20th Century Fox,” one buyer observes. “We watched as Fox was absorbed and a player was moved off the board. In the early days, it was about who was getting retained, and it will be the same here.
“Paramount and Warner Bros. do business differently, and it will be interesting to see how the culture comes together. Distribution is a complete duplication, though, and it’s likely one entire team will be leaving. It will be massive and we will have to navigate through it.”
A senior European buyer similarly sees change on the horizon. “We know it could potentially be the final Warner Bros. LA Screening,” they say.
The buyer notes David Ellison’s oft-repeated pledge to produce 30 movies a year when (or if?) the two studios become one. “Warner has had a couple of very good years at the box office, and in terms of series both produce a lot. Will there be more consolidation there and fewer series? How much will be behind the paywall of the Paramount-Warner app? Will they still want our money? The buyers will still be there with their check books.”
That final line will be music to the ears of David Decker, President of Global Content Sales at WBD, whose studio heads into the screenings with big ticket items such as DC Universe series Lanterns (which one buyer with early access calls “so good”), Big Bang Theory spin-off Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, and Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness – the comedy series bringing together Larry David with President Barack Obama.
“What buyers will hear is the consistent message that it is business as usual,” says Decker. “You can rely on our shows and movies for your platform.”
On a more micro level, Friends, The Big Bang Theory and the Harry Potter franchise seller WBD wants to send a message that the studio remains supportive of the global TV advertising market, and that free-to-air channels remain as important as those buying purely for streaming. In short, it wants to do business with anyone and everyone at the Burbank lot.
‘Return of the retuner’
Decker is framing the ’26 LA Screenings as the “the return of the returning series,” with Warner shows such as CBS’s George and Mandy’s First Marriage, Fox’s Memory of a Killer and HBO Max medical series The Pitt among those on the slate that are back. “It’s getting harder and harder to have sustainable hits, an the key for those shows is not just that they are returning, but they’re returning on an annual basis,” he says.
“There was a time when we assumed shows would come back every year, but it got harder to do and then consumers got used to them taking 18 to 24 months to come back, and it was frustrating because you’d lose momentum. To not only have great shows, but, have them back on an annual clip, is great for the buyers, the advertisers, and the viewers.”
The potential merger could also impact the increasingly few territories where HBO Max content goes out via a third party. One such country is Canada, where those shows and films are on Heated Rivalry streamer Crave. There have been questions asked about whether this could change next year, but Bell Media VP of Global Content Justin Stockman, who is currently in L.A., says: “We have the deal for the foreseeable future. We’re secure with how the deal is worded that it will continue to be our content.”
With Paramount and WBD bound by pre-merger rules to avoid discussing the coming union we don’t know the future for either studio at the LA Screenings. We reached out to Paramount for an interview with new sales chief Don McGregor, but time constraints got in the way of a call.
We do know Paramount will welcome buyers to the lot with a slate comprising Robert and Michelle King legal drama Cupertino, vampire comedy Eternally Yours, cop drama Einstein and NCIS: New York, all of which are for CBS, and international medical drama The F Ward, a co-production with Australia’s Stan.
Doing business with the U.S. studios can be tough on buyers – they often have little leverage and the best available shows will usually end in expensive bidding wars. However, there’s a broad understanding that U.S. content continues to cut through, and while it is now often supplementary to local originals, buyers will still make the journey to the West Coast.
“There was a time that the week before the Upfronts was when the excitement really started to ramp up and I would have been obsessed with tracking,” says Dermot Horan, Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions at Ireland’s RTÉ. “We waited with baited breath for what got picked up, as those things provided the backbone of our second channel played and played on first channel. They would fill half a year of content, but tastes have changed.”
Horan says shorter-run content is driving eyeballs to channels’ streaming services, making them more valuable – especially if they’re exclusive. “You will want a hefty mix of first run content,” he adds.
Cailah Scobie, Chief Content Officer at streamer Stan, adds: “As Australia’s only locally-owned streaming service, Stan curates specifically for Australian audiences and continues to acquire a significant volume of premium U.S. content because it continues to resonate strongly locally.
“Australian audiences continue to respond to content with a clear creative voice and identity, whether that’s prestige drama, elevated genre, premium factual or event television. That content sits alongside Stan originals and international co-productions as part of a deliberately balanced premium content strategy.”
The inclusion of The F Ward, the Australian drama starring Anna Friel about a team of misfit medical interns, on Paramount’s slate points to the continued importance of international titles to the LA Screenings, and the focus of many buyers in town. “For Stan, originals, co-productions and acquisitions are complementary rather than competing priorities,” says Scobie.
The likes of Stan and Crave continue to invest in co-productions and acquisitions from outside the States, but Bell’s Stockman says more traditional network TV such as ABC procedural High Potential and The Rookie are faring increasingly well on his service, as older viewers finally make the transition to streaming. What that has meant in many cases is deals for even the most network of network shows are non-starters if digital rights aren’t on the table.
“A few years ago, things that worked on streaming didn’t work on linear, and I would try to unload some of the content, but now everything works on streaming on some level,” adds Stockman.
We’ll known much of what the Canadian buyers are buying on Monday, as they are always given an early look at slates during Upfronts week given they simulcast with the U.S., and in typically collegiate fashion have an unofficial but sacred agreement to hold out until each network exec has seen what’s on offer before calling in their bids. That really kicks off the buying.
Busy days ahead
It’s worth running down what’s actually happening over the next few days, with hundreds of buyers take the annual pilgrimage around the studios to get early sight of the newest series and films out there.
Events kick off today (Friday May 15) when Amazon MGM Studios screens for the first time before going again on May 18. Tomorrow (May 16) Paramount and NBCUniversal begin screening, with Ellison’s studio also hosting buyers on Sunday (May 17). NBCU screens on May 17 and 18. Sony Pictures Television (SPT) holds its screening Sunday in Culver City, while Warner Bros. Discovery’s Burbank events roll out Monday and Tuesday (May 18 and 19). Disney is screening down the way on May 18, 19 and 20, while Fox Entertainment Global holds its annual lot party on Sunday. There will also be several Latin American-focused screenings.
The likes of Fifth Season and Lionsgate will also welcome buyers to screenings, while the Latin America-focused LA Screenings Independents event precedes the studios, ending today at the SLS Beverly Hills.
It’s a busy schedule – one that SPT co-Presidents Mike Wald and Jason Spivak note that marks the first time in several years where conditions are “quote-unquote, ‘normal’” – with no strikes, pandemic or wildfires in the very recent memory. “That is not something we are thinking about this year, and it feels like there is a momentum in the market,” says Spivak.
Wald and Spivak add that the upcoming corporate changes in Hollywood could further strengthen SPT’s relationship with buyers. Spivak points to his studio’s independence from a broadcast network – what senior Sony execs call the ‘arms dealer’ strategy. “We’re just doing what we do best, and sometimes what happens around us sometimes works in our favor,” he says. “We’re pretty consistent,” adds Wald. “We’ve been doing what we do best – making great content and selling it to the best home.”
On the unscripted side, SPT will be offering buyers Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune for the first time since Sony’s legal battle with Paramount over the international rights ended successfully. “They’re such iconic shows that have been around forever, and it’s great to have them sitting here with us and leverage them as we do in the U.S.,” says Wald.
We hear Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings will adding star power at Sony lot on Sunday (May 17), where SPT will also be providing a first look at buzzy Jon Hamm drama American Hostage, which has already wrapped deals ahead of the screenings, along with Glenn Close drama Up to No Good and Britbox period drama Chocolate Wars out of the UK (the latter was only confirmed for production yesterday). Hamm and Close will also be charming buyers Sunday, we hear. From SPT International team now led by former BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore comes an adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
‘Range’ not change
As for Michael Bonner, NBCUniversal’s (NBCU) President of Global TV Distribution, market changes haven’t led to significant disruption to the Comcast company’s licensing program. “The industry landscape is constantly evolving, and that’s nothing new, but the demand for premium global storytelling remains incredibly strong and NBCUniversal’s diversified business and broad content portfolio position us very well in any environment,” he says.
While WBD is framing returners as its superpower and SPT is selling clarity, NBCU will be shopping a message of “range” not change. “We have premium event series like Possession and The Siege, broad commercial dramas like The Rockford Files and Line of Fire, distinctive comedies such as Dig, Sunset P.I., and Newlyweds, and recognizable franchises like Ted: The Animated Series, all within one portfolio,” says Bonner. “Buyers are increasingly looking for fewer, bigger shows that feel globally marketable and capable of cutting through; we believe this lineup delivers that across multiple genres and platforms.”
Bonner is among the studio bosses who recognize how some buyers are splitting returnable network series and shorter-length, limited-run cable/streamer shows into different buckets, but calls both types of content “essential parts of the ecosystem.”
Buyers we’ve spoken to broadly assess there is less out there this year, though NBCU and Paramount have been credited by sources for stocking the cupboards. “Overall, there’s definitely less product than there has been,” says an acquisitions exec.
Fox Entertainment Global (FEG) will be inviting buyers to sample the likes of feature film drama Wind of Change about rock band Scorpions, hospital drama Best Medicine Season 2, Channel 5 drama Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards and Season 5 of comedy. “The broader changes happening in Hollywood have not fundamentally changed the type of content we believe travels internationally,” says Prentiss Fraser, President of FEG.
“We’re seeing strong demand for premium, character-driven dramas in the U.S., like Best Medicine, which debuted with 15 million viewers, alongside continued interest in true crime, thrillers, and unscripted or docuseries with a clear, compelling hook. At the same time, buyers are prioritizing feel-good, escapist content – comedies like Animal Control, as well as romance and lifestyle programming that can drive repeat viewing.”
Market changes on the studio lots
Similar to SPT, Fraser argues market change is leading to positive outcomes. “While the industry continues to evolve through consolidation, shifting business models, and new distribution dynamics, we have not seen it materially change what is going into our catalogue,” she adds. “If anything, it reinforces the importance of scalable, audience-friendly programming that can succeed across many different markets and viewing environments globally.”
Disney, which acquired the program catalog of the previous incarnation of Fox, has routinely declined to comment on the LA Screenings in recent years. Now operating under Jimmy Zasowski, President of Platform Distribution, it will kick off its screening on Sunday with a special screening on The Mandalorian and Grogu followed by a reception on the lot. A rep tells us a “curated lineup of episodes and sizzles” from shows, live events and films will be presented.
Buyers say Disney is broadly offering second windows, which can be attractive but are not ideal reputationally and come with a holdback of about a year, we understand. Information is scant, which points to another way the Screenings have evolved over recent years: Fact finding.
Numerous acquisitions sources we’ve spoken to say their week in L.A. will be as much about gathering intel on windows and gleaning what can be learned about the studios as it is about sitting in a darkened theater staring at screens. “We’re going there to watch, but also as importantly to meet people in the studios and get a sense of their strategies,” says RTÉ’s Horan.
There’s also a question of how much cash buyers actually have to spend, with money in the traditional TV space remaining tight.
“It’s going be an interesting market because the TV ad market is quite depressed globally and nobody has lots of money to spend,” says one veteran buyer. “Though some studios have a lot of shows and are bouncing back, I’m not sure how competitive it will be – some purses are sewn shut. I know the studios don’t like to leave the Screenings with unsold product, as the price drops. It’s about how active buyers will be.”