Paramount-WBD limbo drags on as Boyle’s Ink books Venice opener
UK politics has slowed the $110B Paramount-WBD deal, while Venice set Danny Boyle’s Ink as its opener and the BBC pushed a streamer fee plan.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The proposed $110 billion Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger is heading into weeks of UK uncertainty after Parliament shut for the summer without a decision from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Deadline reported.
Nandy had previously said she was “minded to intervene” on media plurality grounds, according to Deadline. With lawmakers away, the wait now runs until at least September 1, by which time the UK is expected to have a new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and likely a new culture secretary.
The delay carries a price tag. Deadline reported that David Ellison’s company has agreed to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a “ticking fee” of 25 cents per share, about $650 million, for every quarter the takeover remains unfinished after the third quarter.
The merger is also facing pressure outside Whitehall. Deadline reported that Alan Cumming and other stars have been organizing through a coalition urging people to contact Nandy’s department. Cumming said the combined company would create “a giant conglomerate beholden to Donald Trump, autocrats and oligarchs.”
Deadline also reported that the deal could technically close without UK clearance, though Ellison has so far signaled he intends to follow the regulatory process. In the U.S., a dozen states are suing over the merger, while a judge has denied a preliminary injunction in a separate consumer lawsuit seeking to block it.
Danny Boyle heads to the Lido
Venice will open this year’s film festival with Danny Boyle’s Ink, Deadline reported. The movie stars Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy, and is based on James Graham’s play.
The film follows the early years of The Sun newspaper, when Rupert Murdoch and editor Larry Lamb transformed it into Britain’s best-selling tabloid, according to Deadline.
Venice chief Alberto Barbera called the Studiocanal, Media Res and House Productions title “highly anticipated.” Graham’s play drew strong reviews in London’s West End before moving to Broadway.
Deadline also reported that Ellen Burstyn will receive the Golden Lion at the festival. Akinola Davies Jr. and Ted Hope are among the names set for Venice jury roles.
BBC targets streamers in licence fee push
The BBC’s annual report put funding back at the center of the debate, with new director general Matt Brittin using his first report to argue for changes to the licence fee model, Deadline reported.
One proposal under discussion would make streaming service subscribers pay the licence fee. The annual report showed 539,000 fewer households paid the £180, or $240, fee last year, according to Deadline.
Brittin and BBC executives described the broadcaster’s finances as under pressure. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has backed the streamer proposal, while Deadline reported that streamers and studios have opposed it.
Brittin called the current licence fee “yesterday’s model.” The corporation is also cutting thousands of jobs as part of a £500 million savings plan, while pointing to improved licence fee collection as one route to easing the strain.
The report also showed Scott Mills was the BBC’s highest-paid presenter over the past year, earning as much as £750,000 in the 12 months to the end of March 2026, Deadline reported. His show was later abruptly ended in connection with a police investigation into alleged historical sexual offences; prosecutors ultimately dropped the case.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.