Skydance–Paramount merger: what options remain for brands to make themselves heard in a changing media landscape?

A media Big Bang under close political scrutiny

The Paramount–Skydance merger, approved by the FCC after months of negotiations, marks the birth of an entertainment giant: cinema, TV, streaming, legendary franchises such as Mission Impossible and Star Trek. Value: nearly $28 billion.

While this deal is worth tens of billions, it tells a story that goes far beyond finance. It signals a cultural and political earthquake: Hollywood is changing hands under the watchful eye of Washington, where the shadow of CFIUS—and pressure from the White House—now looms large over this type of agreement.

The conditions set for approving this mega-merger—abandoning certain internal policies (DEI: diversity, equity, inclusion), appointing an “ombudsman,” an editorial mediator responsible for monitoring editorial bias—are not technical details.

The signals sent are clear: this shows how, in 2025, owning a media outlet also means managing political power relations. Media concentration is no longer just a market issue; it is filtered, authorized, and sometimes exploited by political powers. When flagship shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert disappear from the airwaves after criticism deemed too bold, the message is brutal: freedom of speech comes at a high price, even for the biggest names.

More power... but less vocal diversity

The Paramount–Skydance merger comes with big promises: huge budgets, legendary franchises, and synergies between cinema, TV, and streaming. On paper, it's a win-win: even bigger audiences, streamlined global distribution, and advertisers who get access to premium inventory in a single contract.

But behind this glamorous storytelling, the reality is more ambivalent. The more concentrated the landscape becomes, the more editorial voices become uniform.

• For viewers, the offering seems generous—but it is becoming increasingly formulaic. Calibrated blockbusters, licensed series, storytelling designed to appeal to the widest possible audience: it is difficult to find alternative narratives when everything is decided within a small circle of conglomerates.

• For advertisers, the power is undeniable. But this power comes at a price: a growing dependence on a few players who are able to set their own terms. Buying visibility, yes. Buying diversity of context, much less so.

• For media agencies : the room for maneuver is shrinking. Premium inventories are locked up by three or four global groups, and the balance of power is no longer even: negotiations are conducted with virtual monopolies, not in an open market.

In the short term, audiences are tuning in. But in the long term, trust is eroding. When consumers feel that everything they watch comes from the same studios and that everything they hear in advertising follows the same pattern, they tune out. The “raw” advertising message loses credibility, perceived as part of a closed system.

In short: the power of conglomerates guarantees exposure, but not loyalty. And it is precisely this gap—between massive audience and fragile trust—that mechanisms such as BuyTryShare can fill..

The challenge for brands: finding a credible voice in a sea of mistrust

The equation seems paradoxical: never before have brands had so many opportunities to reach audiences—and never before have audiences given so little credence to their messages. Mergers between media giants guarantee global audiences, but they also confine campaigns to a framework that is perceived as standardized, controlled, and even politicized.

A premium TV commercial aired during prime time may impress viewers with its production quality. However, this is no longer enough to win them over. Worse still, when it is associated with a media outlet suspected of bias or political influence, it can generate immediate mistrust. Viewers judge not only the product, but also the channel that is promoting it.

That's where the real challenge lies. To stand out, a brand must not shout louder than the others, but inspire more authenticity. Modern consumers have become code readers: they dissect promises, detect overly formulaic discourse, and spot the advertising mechanics behind every polished image. When faced with them, artifice no longer works

What he is now looking for is tangible validation: proof that the product works, that others have tested and approved it. Not a repeated slogan, but a human echo. In a sea of mistrust, the credible voice is not the one that resonates the loudest, but the one that rings true.

BuyTryShare: when proof takes center stage in campaigns

In this climate saturated with promises and undermined by mistrust, BuyTryShare acts as a breath of fresh air. Its principle is simple, almost obvious: why ask a brand to bear the burden of conviction alone, when it already has the best possible ally—its own consumers?

Where a traditional campaign ends with a slogan or a powerful image, BuyTryShare extends the story. Five seconds is all it takes. A real, verified review that extends the advertising film, and everything changes: the viewer no longer just hears a pitch, they witness validation. The message ceases to be a top-down promise and becomes shared proof.

This break is seemingly minor, but decisive in terms of experience. In a world where every advertisement can be suspected of being formatted or manipulated, this human touch acts as a guarantee: “others like you have already bought it and recommend it to you.” The gaze changes, attention is captured, trust is established.

And that is the strength of the approach: the brand does not renounce the power of the mainstream media; on the contrary, it exploits it fully, but injects it with a dimension of authenticity that neither technology, politics, nor budgetary one-upmanship can buy.

BuyTryShare does not promise to invent a new form of advertising. It promises to reconnect advertising with what has always made it effective: proof that a product works, seen and heard by everyone.

In the shadow of giants, the voice that resists

The Paramount–Skydance merger is not just another financial deal. It illustrates an era in which media concentration is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, politics is invading newsrooms, and viewers are becoming suspicious of what looks too much like a well-oiled machine. The louder the megaphones get, the more trust erodes.

For brands, the lesson is clear: it is no longer enough to buy space or increase repetition. The battle is not quantitative, it is qualitative. It is fought on a more intimate level: the ability to prove that a product or service delivers on its promises. This proof is not found in a KPI or an audience curve, but in a human voice that is credible and recognizable among all others.

It is precisely this voice that BuyTryShare brings to the forefront. By integrating verified consumer testimonials into the very heart of the most powerful advertising formats, BuyTryShare offers brands an authentic anchor in a sea saturated with calibrated narratives.

Mergers will continue, media empires will grow, political pressure will persist. But there will always be one thing that neither conglomerates nor governments can buy or censor: the trust that comes from a sincere review. And it is this unyielding voice that BuyTryShare chooses to amplify.