Mergers are not a lot of fun, but that is the topic up for discussion right now. Paramount and Netflix continue to put offers forward to Warner Bros. Discovery, with it looking like Netflix being the likely company to get it. This has led to a lot of questions about the WBD content, including Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
John Oliver is not a fan of the merger, but he doesn’t get a lot of say in it. However, for now, he’s not sweating it too much, and he said as much to Trevor Noah when he sat down with the host of What Now?
John Oliver shares the reality of the merger
At first, the focus was on the reality of the merger. While there is a lot of talk about it at the moment, it’s not something that can just happen overnight. Oliver shared that this is something that will get caught up in the courts, because legally, it’s very hard to do a merger like this. There are a lot of issues with companies creating monopolies.
You just have to look at how the government has been looking into Google and its monopoly over various elements of the internet. There are going to be discussions about any major company merging with Warner Bros. Discovery and what that means, especially after Warner Bros. and Discovery already fully merged.
So, this is going to take time, and it’s the main reason Oliver isn’t too worried about it just yet. This doesn’t mean it won’t happen, and it led to a discussion about Last Week Tonight.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has already been through this
While Oliver does admit that he’s somewhat worried because he doesn’t know what’s to come with the merger, it’s easier because it’s not his first rodeo. This is his third merger that Last Week Tonight has been through, and he went through all of them.
At first, Time Warner was taken over by AT&T, and then AT&T was taken over by Warner Bros. Discovery. So, now this is the third time that he has had to go through this, and it’s not like it’s going to be as easy as some of the others.
What he does say is that Last Week Tonight is not going to change. Not just yet. They’re acting as if nothing is going to happen, for now, and that’s probably the best way to handle it. If you’re always worried about what’s to come, you’re never going to get anything done! It certainly got the former Daily Show host, Trevor Noah, laughing.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will hopefully be back in February 2026, but we’ll be keeping an eye on the schedule.