From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is The Daily.

For months, a Hollywood drama has been unfolding that's fit for the big screen.

It's a corporate love triangle, with a cast of characters, including a billionaire Scion, a tech giant, and the president of the United States.

Now that story appears to be coming to a close, but with a twist ending.

Today, my colleagues Nicole Spurling, Lauren Hirsch, and Jonathan Mahler explain why the merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers

has left Hollywood in a state of shock and why the deal could reshape our political and

cultural landscape. It's Wednesday, March 4th.

Lauren, Nicole, Jonathan, good to have you here. Thanks for having us. Good to be here. fourth.

Lauren, Nicole, Jonathan, good to have you here.

Thanks for having us.

Good to be here.

Happy to be here.

So we have gathered the three of you here today because for months now, there has been this looming question over Hollywood about who was going to buy Warner Brothers.

And we finally seem to have our answer.

It's going to be paramount with the winning bid.

Lauren, you've covered every inch of this corporate dealmaking so far.

Nicole, you have been paying close attention to how Hollywood is reacting to all of this.

And Jonathan, your extensive reporting on the Murdox means that you are pretty well positioned to comment on what it means when

billionaires come to town. So, Jonathan, I want to start with you. Can you explain why this deal

matters? I mean, on the most basic level, this deal matters a ton because we are talking about

the creation of an enormous media empire here. We're talking about under one single

roof, Paramount, CBS, HBO, Warner Brothers, CNN, Nickelodeon, MTV, and on and on and on.

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