This morning, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO, David Zaslav, held a town hall with employees and attempted to pitch the Paramount/Skydance deal—this after spending months campaigning heavily against it and in favor of Netflix.
WBD CEO David Zaslav addressed employees at a town hall Friday after Paramount won the bidding war over Netflix. He called the process "whiplash-y."
A leaked audio recording of the town hall has now surfaced (via Business Insider), revealing a few, shall we say, notable moments.
Zaslav could be heard telling WBD staffers that he is now excited about the Paramount deal. “Together, we can be a great company.”
It’s not easy, but we’re getting bigger and we’re getting stronger. And you guys are the envy of everyone in this business.
Most intriguingly, Zaslav emphasized that the Paramount-WBD deal still requires significant regulatory approval and could “6-18 months” to close—if it closes at all.
The deal may not close If it doesn’t close, we get $7 billion, and we get back to work.
Last week, WBD’s board warned shareholders that accepting Paramount’s offer might trigger a wave of employee departures, citing the $6 billion in cost reductions that Ellison’s company aimed to achieve.
By comparison, Netflix had projected savings of $2 billion to $3 billion from its own agreement. During the call, Zaslav did not address any potential layoffs or structural changes related to the Paramount deal.