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Two major media conglomerates are coming together, but public opinions are split. The merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery has been on the minds of UTampa’s film department faculty, several of whom are active in the industry.

“When you teach film, and when you’re a filmmaker, there’s something you’re so aware of constantly, which is the intersection between business and art,” said Associate Professor Taylor Curry.

Curry has been making films since she was a student. Her work often focuses on the lived experiences of women and women of color, and she is concerned about both the present and future of stories like these.

“Monopolistic organizations of studio systems like this will invariably lead to more narrow, homogeneous offerings, less diversity of thought, less varied authorship,” said Curry. “It also puts existing catalogs in a pretty interesting bind.”

Not only are original ideas by unique creators less likely to get produced, but quirky content that is currently streaming on HBO, owned by WBD, might end up in limbo. “Whenever there’s a studio takeover, typically things disappear,” she said. She cited HBO’s content purge when it was bought by WBD in 2022, which completely removed niche shows like Legendary and Gordita Chronicles from the very streaming service that created them.

Paul de Lumen, assistant professor of film, animation and new media, seconded Curry’s opinion on the homogenization of material. “Any gathering of power is a little bit problematic as an artist,” he said.

He’s thinking beyond the potential limitations, though. “Artists are naturally survivalists,” he said. “The independent voices that are doing more avant garde thinking will just find new ways of doing that.”

Last month, more than 1,000 Hollywood figures, including Robert De Niro, Jane Fonda, Pedro Pascal and Sofia Coppola, issued an open letter opposing the merger, arguing that it will lead to far fewer films and TV shows getting developed, which will then lead the loss of thousands of jobs, especially for blue collar crew workers like gaffers and boom operators. The petition has since amassed more than 5,000 signatures.

The deal will officially close later this year when antitrust regulators rule if the merger is considered a monopoly or not. As powerful as the two companies are, Associate Professor of Economics Daniel Diaz Vidal doesn’t think that will be an issue.

“The streaming share alone does not look like a classic monopoly problem,” he said.

Diaz Vidal explained that the combination of Paramount and WBD’s streaming services, Paramount+ and HBO, will still take up a relatively small portion of the market, compared to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In fact, he theorized that the merger could even bolster competition, as the united forces will be a stronger rival to the leading brands.

On a personal level, Diaz Vidal said he has “no dog in this fight,” though he is a certified cinephile. He has a minor in film studies from his undergraduate education and often incorporates movies and TV shows into his economics classes. “As long as good movies are made, I don’t particularly care too much,” he opined.

But he noted that the studio merger is only “the tip of the iceberg” when examining all the terms of the deal.

“What lurks underneath is the really important stuff. Who controls production? Who controls distribution? Who controls the advertising inventory, sports and the news agenda?”

De Lumen said, “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.” Faculty found both pros and cons to the situation, but it’s difficult to envision the future of an industry as volatile and fast-paced as entertainment.

For now, they’re focusing on the positives. “I embrace and welcome the opportunity to reflect,” said Curry.