Warner Bros. Discovery is in the middle of a Hollywood tug-of-war between Netflix and Paramount. And chances are it'll be a long, bumpy regulatory road ahead for either buyer.
Warner’s board on Wednesday urged shareholders to back the deal it struck with Netflix to sell its studio and streaming business for $72 billion. Meanwhile, Skydance-owned Paramount is moving forward with its hostile $77.9 billion bid for a full takeover of the company, including networks like CNN.
Click to Gallery
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
An aerial view shows Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Paramount Pictures water tower is seen in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
In both scenarios, a merger would likely trigger a review by the U.S. Justice Department, which could sue to block the transaction or request changes. But other countries and entities could challenge either acquisition, too.
Politics are also expected to come into play under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made unprecedented suggestions about his personal involvement on whether a deal will go through.
The process could drag on for more than a year, if not longer. But regardless of who wins, new ownership of Warner properties would drastically reshape the industry — impacting movie-making, streaming platforms and the broader media landscape.
Here's what we know.
The buyout target — Warner Bros. Discovery — is a 102-year-old Hollywood giant. It is one of the “big five” studios, producing titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Superman.” And its cable operations include top networks like CNN and Discovery. Warner also owns DC Studios and HBO Max.
Paramount, which closed its own $8 billion merger with Skydance just months ago, is also one of Hollywood's remaining legacy studios — with a blockbuster lineup including “Top Gun” and “The Godfather." Beyond traditional film and TV production, it owns networks like CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.
For Netflix, streaming is its bread and butter, accounting for 20% of the U.S. market for on-demand subscriptions, according to data from streaming guide JustWatch. That compares to 13% for HBO Max and 7% for Paramount+. But Netflix has also built up its own production arm, rolling out popular titles like “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things.”
Netflix is the biggest of the three companies, with a market capitalization of around $430 billion as of mid-December. Warner Bros. Discovery is about $70 billion, while Paramount Skydance trails at closer to $14 billion.
Paramount has already pointed to Netflix's streaming dominance, arguing that bringing the platform under the same roof as HBO Max would squash competition and give it “overwhelming” market share. But Netflix has maintained its merger will give consumers more choice, allowing it to offer more plans and titles for customers to choose from Warner's catalog.
Antitrust experts expect Paramount and Netflix to try to convince regulators that they're not just up against more traditional rival subscriptions, but broader video libraries across the internet.
YouTube is at the top of the list and Netflix is already laying the groundwork to show Google's streaming platform dominance in terms of viewing hours, which, according to media analytics firm Nielsen, accounted for nearly 13% of viewership this fall compared with 8% for Netflix.
Jim Speta, a professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, expects both companies to say that a merger is “necessary for them to compete against YouTube.”
“The broader you make the market that we’re thinking about, the less the merger looks anti-competitive," Speta said.
Meanwhile, others will argue that either merger is bad for consumers. While content libraries may broaden, a case could be made about a combined company wielding its power to control prices — or adding more subscription hoops for consumers to jump through to watch certain titles.
Among concerns, “the range of available content on the streaming services might decrease,” said Scott Wagner, head of antitrust practice at law firm Bilzin Sumberg. He pointed to older movies in particular that could potentially see shorter streaming windows across platforms.
If successful, Paramount's takeover would combine two of Hollywood's “big five” studios. And while Netflix has agreed to uphold Warner’s contractual obligations for theatrical releases in its proposed acquisition, critics are skeptical given its reliance on online streaming.
Some trade groups have warned that consequences of either deal could include job losses. Layoffs tied to restructuring are common following a merger and wouldn't likely draw antitrust scrutiny, but Speta notes competition concerns could still arise if a company “becomes so big that it has purchasing power” and is deemed to control wages more broadly.
For Paramount specifically, there's also the news and broader cable landscape to consider.
Attorneys like Wagner expect the prospect of having Warner-owned CNN and Paramount's CBS under the same roof will be brought up in the regulatory review. But he doesn't believe it will carry the same weight as streaming and content library questions — or become a tipping point that will lead to the merger's demise overall.
Similar to broadening the definition of the streaming market, advocates of the Paramount merger will probably point to wider media offerings beyond traditional TV news, including information-sharing on social media platforms, Warner said.
But there are also political implications around a possible CBS-CNN combo. Under new Skydance ownership, Paramount has already taken steps to appeal to more conservative viewers in its news operations, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News. And if the company's takeover bid of Warner is successful, many expect similar shifts at CNN — a network that has long attracted ire from Trump.
Trump has been vocal about whether a buyout of Warner will go through, and even said he would personally “be involved in that decision.”
Speta says such a suggestion should raise alarm. While changes in administration have caused shifts in the reach of antitrust enforcement over the years, “presidents picking whether mergers happen or don’t happen is completely unprecedented,” he said.
Earlier this month, Trump said Netflix’s deal “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president also has a close relationship with billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison — the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison — whose family trust is heavily backing the company’s bid to buy Warner. An investment firm run by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, was among other initial contributors to Paramount's bid, but later backed out.
Meanwhile, Netflix has its own political connections. Trump previously called Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of the streaming giant, a “fantastic man” and said the two met in the Oval Office before the proposed Warner merger was announced. And Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount over editorial decisions at CBS’ “60 Minutes."
Even without Trump's intervention, the companies could bruise themselves as the process plays out, according to Paul Nary, assistant professor of management at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He notes Warner Bros. Discovery has largely unperformed for shareholders since its inception just three years ago — and could “potentially being left in even worse shape” if management is distracted by shuffling through a long, drawn-out deal.
“There’s a potential for the winners curse here,” he said. “Media and entertainment is one of those spaces where you see all of these mega mergers — high stakes (and) big egos competing over the glamorous assets. And so many of those deals end up failing.”
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
An aerial view shows Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A Netflix sign is displayed atop a building in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Paramount Pictures water tower is seen in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, with the Hollywood sign in the distance. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
ATLANTA (AP) — Millennial and Generation Z Christian influencers are increasingly filling a void in American religion, growing audiences across digital platforms by steering young people to biblical answers to tough questions that aren't always answered in Sunday sermons.
“I can be that in-between — Monday to Saturday help — to give you practical things to make you feel like you’re not walking this walk alone,” said Megan Ashley, 35, sitting cross-legged in sweats on the couch where she records her “In Totality” podcast.
From myriad backgrounds, these influencers talk candidly to their listeners about everything from anxieties and doubts to dating and culture, delving into the Bible’s complexities. Those of faith say Christian influencers are galvanizing young people looking for meaning in a culture that lacks it at a time when years of declining church attendance has slowed.
“What they’re making accessible is a truth that transforms people,” said Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper and podcaster. “There’s something that’s happening existentially — supernaturally — that I can’t explain.”
Ashley and Moore are among a half-dozen popular influencers who described their work for this story. With and without formal theological training, they describe themselves as churchgoers who don’t want their messages boxed in by denominational labels.
Some grew up in church; others didn’t, but they commonly describe experiencing a spiritual transformation that came out of hardship or a sense of emptiness they pin on secular lifestyles.
“We’re like, listen, we’re two mess-ups too. It’s OK,” said Arielle Reitsma, 36, co-host of podcast “Girls Gone Bible,” which gets more than a million listens or streams each month.
These algorithm-savvy podcasters fit comfortably in a long tradition of Christian celebrities, said Zachary Sheldon, a Baylor University lecturer on media, religion and culture who cited televangelist Billy Graham as an example. Working independently, they can harness audiences more easily than established congregations and media organizations can.
“Exposing people to the faith and challenging them to ask questions and search for something more” are really good things to do, Sheldon said. But he pointed to “potential dangers in granting them too much authority on the basis of their celebrity and their acumen with social media.”
These influencers encourage church attendance and describe reaching a variety of people, including those who have been particularly disconnected from religion, which polls show is a growing number of young Americans. Only 41% of people ages 18-35 surveyed in 2023-24 said they believe in God with certainty, down from 65% in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center.
“People are spiritually hungry, emotionally hungry, and I think for the first time ever … people are encountering Jesus even through online platforms, and they’re realizing, this is true life and fulfillment,” said Angela Halili, 29, Reitsma's co-host.
The pair now draws live crowds since starting the podcast more than two years ago. At an event in Atlanta, they warned hundreds of fans against idolizing work or relationships, Bibles in hand, and recounted their days as Hollywood actors battling addiction, heartbreak and mental health disorders. Halili said God brought them “radical healing,” and they want listeners to know that God can perform “miracles” in their lives, too.
Afterward, they hugged and prayed for people in the audience, where Anna Williams, 17, said she considers both Reitsma and Halili to be “a big sister” in her life.
Even as they espouse biblical principles as guidance toward true joy, influencers say that being Christian can be hard.
God “does make everything better, but that doesn’t always come in the way that we think it’s gonna come,” said “In Totality” host Ashley.
Her current obsession, which she teaches with fervor, is a biblical passage about living as a sacrifice. God asks people to give up certain wants and behaviors so they can grow closer to him, Ashley says. She said her intensity grew after a healing encounter with God’s “severity” as a freshly divorced single mom plagued by suicidal thoughts and depression.
Bible passages, day-to-day plights and heavier challenges are covered on “With the Perrys,” a podcast led by husband and wife authors and spoken-word artists who also run a streetwear brand.
“It is the all — how do we do all of this stuff in this weird flesh and weird world?” said Jackie Hill Perry, 36.
She is an admired speaker who is working towards her seminary degree and wrote a book about leaving behind same-sex relationships. She and husband Preston Perry, 39, started podcasting in 2019. Followers already resonated with Perry's theological debates and story of growing up around poverty and violence before finding faith and becoming a Christian evangelist.
“God calls us to ruffle feathers sometimes, to speak to culture,” Perry said.
In a recent episode, the Perrys urged listeners to be honest with God about struggling to trust him. Through focused prayer, obedience and Bible reading, God brings lasting peace, answers and growth during hard circumstances, they say, but this requires more than quick fixes like scrolling and sex.
At just 22, Bryce Crawford teaches Bible chapters on his self-named podcast and posts videos of himself talking to people about Christianity at Pride parades, the Burning Man counter-culture festival and a satanic temple.
Rather than shout “repent,” Crawford’s street evangelism aims to change minds through kindness. His followers say they're attracted by his empathetic yet bold demeanor while delivering talking points against lifestyles such as same-sex marriage.
“My issue with ‘repent or burn in hell’ is that people get frustrated because they don’t know why you’re telling them that,” said Crawford, who describes being severely anxious and bitter toward God until God healed him at a Waffle House. “Our tactics have been one-on-one conversations, calmly listening, asking questions because we care about them, and in that explaining our worldview.”
These influencers acknowledge that online Christianity has its challenges.
A hyperfocus on online drama and Christianity's more esoteric beliefs can miss the basics, such as love and Christ's sacrifice, Hill Perry said. She worries that “simply talking about gentleness or respect or kindness or patience is gonna be boring” to people.
And the deep political and cultural rifts among Christians emerge online too.
For example, Halili and Reitsma got pushback for taking the opportunity to pray at a pre-inauguration rally for President Donald Trump. The Perrys have been criticized by conservatives for talking about police brutality and racial injustice, and liberals for expressing opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.
Some followers say these influencers provide a welcome alternative to the buttoned-up pastors they grew up with who spoke of God as a faraway deity that would reject them for breaking too many rules.
“I really needed someone who was a younger Black female portraying something that wasn’t super traditional,” said Olivia Singleton, 24. She's involved with her church and likes her pastor, but feels like these influencers are like “one of the girls … walking out the faith with you.”
Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Christian podcaster, Megan Ashley, center, attends service at 2819 Church on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Followers of the Christian podcast, "Girls Gone Bible," cry during the live show held at the Atlanta Symphony Hall, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Christian podcaster and poet, Preston Perry, second from left, and his wife, Jackie Hill Perry, a Christian rapper and podcaster, third from left, attend service at 2819 Church on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Angela Halili, 29, cohost of the Christian podcast, "Girls Gone Bible," stands backstage before their live show as fans and followers sing worship music in the Atlanta Symphony Hall, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
A Youtube award sits behind Christian podcaster, Megan Ashley, at her home where she films her show, "In Totality," Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Acworth, Ga. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Megan Ashley, founder of the Christian podcast, "In Totality," sits with a Bible at her home where she films online content, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Acworth, Ga. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Girls Gone Bible podcasters, Angela Halili, left, and Arielle Reitsma, attend 2819 Church on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Christian podcaster, Megan Ashley, sits on the couch where she films her show, "In Totality," Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at her home in Acworth, Ga. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Angela Halili, 29, right, cohost of the Christian podcast, "Girls Gone Bible," prays over a follower during their live show held at the Atlanta Symphony Hall, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
