Peter Rice Dines with New Paramount Co-CEO Amid Studio Merger Shake-Up
The former Disney TV chairman's meeting with Ynon Kreiz fuels speculation about executive changes at the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery.
Former Walt Disney Television chairman Peter Rice was recently seen dining with Ynon Kreiz, who has been appointed co-CEO of the newly merged Paramount and Warner Bros. studios. The meeting, which took place last month at Marea in Beverly Hills, has gained significant attention against the backdrop of the ongoing $111 billion studio merger.
Kreiz's appointment to co-head the combined studios under CEO David Ellison was announced shortly after the dinner. Sources familiar with the situation described the three-hour conversation between Rice and Kreiz as "private" and "intense," suggesting it was more than a casual encounter.
Rice, who previously held executive roles including president of 21st Century Fox and CEO of Fox Networks Group, is reportedly being considered for a senior position within Ellison's newly formed media conglomerate. This comes as reports indicate that Warner Bros. film heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy are departing the company.
Paramount Pictures co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg are expected to continue in their roles, overseeing a slate of 30 films per year for the first two years post-merger, increasing to 32 films annually for the subsequent three years as part of the settlement that cleared the way for the merger. The exact role Rice might fill, whether above or parallel to Greenstein and Goldberg, remains a subject of speculation.
Adding to the executive shifts, HBO chief Casey Bloys has confirmed his expanded role, now overseeing content for Paramount+ and HBO Max. Bloys acknowledged that the departure of Paramount's former chair of direct-to-consumer, Cindy Holland, created a "ready made vacuum" for him to step into. Holland's exit has been noted by some executives as a potentially abrupt move.
Rice, who is not currently under contract with any company, has remained active in the industry. In 2023, he formed a nonexclusive deal with A24, producing the film "Misty Green." He is also involved in producing the ceremonies for the LA28 Olympics and Paralympics.
The dinner between Rice and Kreiz has drawn parallels to a previous widely reported lunch between Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Bloys. Such high-profile meetings often spark speculation about potential executive realignments within the competitive entertainment landscape.