• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, 3 hours ago

Last year’s biggest TV show is continuing here in the new year with brand-new, first-run episodes.

It’s the non-scripted, reality-competition show that you might call “Ultimate Fighting: Clash of the TV Titans.”

Who will survive? And who will be voted out at the next tribal council? Will it be Paramount or Netflix?

At the moment, the TV Blog’s money is on Netflix to outduel Paramount in the bitter battle for control of Warner Bros. 

Paramount, led by Oracle heir David Ellison, suffered a setback last Thursday when a Delaware Chancery Court judge in Wilmington denied a motion from Paramount to expedite a decision on a lawsuit Paramount filed against Warner Bros. Discovery. Yes, it’s complicated.

In the lawsuit, filed earlier last week, Paramount accused WBD of concealing crucial details of its deal with Netflix that Paramount says it needs to adjust its own offer for the company.

The suit demanded that WBD be compelled by a court order to release more information. 

Paramount asked that the judge make his decision by this coming Wednesday, which the judge denied.

In a statement afterward, Paramount exhorted WBD shareholders to “ask why their board is working so hard to hide this information.” 

In a response, WBD dismissed Paramount’s most recent moves as an “unserious attempt” to sow confusion about the Netflix deal.

At the same time, Paramount took a new tack when it vowed to mount a proxy fight in which it would nominate its own slate of directors and campaign for shareholder votes in advance of the next WBD annual shareholders meeting in May.

In all of its statements since launching its hostile bid for WBD in early December, Paramount has repeatedly insisted that its offer to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery for $108 billion is the best deal for shareholders because the offer boils down to a hefty $30 per share.

Despite all of Paramount’s efforts, Netflix might still have the upper hand. 

One reason is that Netflix and WBD have already agreed to and signed off on their deal, which would have Netflix paying an estimated $82.7 billion for the Warner Bros. half of WBD, while the Discovery half of the company gets spun off into its own company as planned.

Paramount’s offer includes the purchase of the Discovery side of WBD.

Every time Paramount makes a move, WBD and Netflix seem to shrug it off by reminding everyone that the Netflix deal is a fait accompli and the only thing that remains is closing it.

WBD also emphasizes repeatedly that its board of directors has voted unanimously to accept the Netflix offer over Paramount’s, and that is unlikely to change.

Despite this, news broke last week that Netflix is preparing to adjust its bid for Warner Bros. by converting its original offer of cash and stock into an all-cash offer, which the company hopes will help sway shareholders who are still deciding between Netflix and Paramount.

And so, the Paramount vs. Netflix show goes on.

Fortunately, this saga will end sometime this year. It will therefore be a limited series, with no chance for a second season.