The Trump administration favors Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery – and a number of rival bidders are likely to face stiff hurdles from US regulators in the blockbuster auction, On The Money has learned.

That puts Paramount Skydance – the newly formed media giant headed by CEO David Ellison, the son of software magnate and longtime Trump backer Larry Ellison – clearly in the catbird seat as Warner Bros. Discovery kicks off a process to sell itself this week, according to a government official with direct knowledge of the matter.

Warner Bros Discovery, known as WBD, owns both the No. 1 ranked studio, the No. 3 ranked streaming services, as well as cable channels like HBO and CNN. 4

“Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is very important to the administration,” a senior T

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