Even for Warners execs, who have already lived through the sale to AT&T followed by the spin to Discovery, the Paramount sale (the third deal in a decade!) The deal itself also has certain explicit limits on what Warners can and cannot do and monetary thresholds above which WBD needs Paramount’s permission to act. But if Paramount and Warners find themselves at odds over a series pickup, over a film budget, over a licensing deal, things could go south fast. But Paramount has 13 months to get out, and the clock only starts ticking after the merger closes. “We’ll just do what we’ve done — which is continue like it isn’t happening,” says Oliver of the deal delay.