Streaming alliances are top of mind

Media and technology titans will convene in Sun Valley this week to lay the groundwork for the future of streaming — and for potential alliances.

Allen & Co.’s annual conference, often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires,” kicks off at a ski lodge in Idaho on Tuesday. The conference, which has been held since 1983, has been the birthplace of media megadeals and the venue for industry leaders to discuss the future of their businesses, as well as the overall economy.

The Sun Valley invite list reportedly includes legacy media leaders like Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav; Disney’s Bob Iger and his potential successors Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Josh D’Amaro and Hugh Johnston; as well as Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters; along with tech titans like Amazon’s Andy Jassy and Jeff Bezos; and Apple CEO Tim Cook. While these heavy hitters are frequent attendees of the conference, it’s not certain they will be present this year.

Shari Redstone, a habitual attendee, is also on the guest list. Her participation at the conference will come after her National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, agreed to merge the media company with Skydance after months of negotiations.

Talk of the dramatic deal process will likely circulate throughout conversations. But more important, Sun Valley may also be a key setting to advance deal discussions. The Skydance agreement includes a 45-day “go-shop” clause, meaning potential bidders still have time to make their offers.

On a broader scale, the Paramount deal will serve as the backdrop to the larger discussion about the business of streaming and how to make it profitable. In past years, media companies chased high subscriber numbers in an attempt to best each other. But this time the focus will be on how to come together to make the tricky business of streaming work.

“Hands down, the one really important topic here is how do these companies make the streaming of TV globally work for everyone,” said Neil Begley, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Services. “It’s either going to be the more aggressive use of bundling services or forming joint ventures, or mergers.”

With Netflix in the lead of the so-called streaming wars, with 269.6 million members globally, many other streaming players believe there’s room for combinations to keep pace.

Media mogul Barry Diller — who also made a run at acquiring Paramount — has said the industry needs to give up on chasing Netflix and focus on the broadcast and pay-TV businesses that remain profitable.

Executives from Paramount’s future ownership said on a Monday investor call that it plans to explore partnerships or bundles with other streaming players. Former NBCUniversal CEO…