Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Brian Roberts and ViacomCBS Inc. Chairman Shari Redstone met recently in New York to talk about a variety of possible business partnerships that would permit the companies to enter international markets together, people familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal.

The partnership discussions, which also included ViacomCBS CEO Robert Bakish, come as both companies are preparing to expand their streaming services in non-U.S. markets.

In May, ViacomCBS announced that its Paramount+ service would be available in 45 markets by next year, while in April Comcast said it was seeking to reach partnerships with local programmers and distributors in overseas markets as a way to bolster Peacock, the service launched by its NBCUniversal division.

Comcast’s Sky PLC unit in Europe also has a streaming operation. 

Throughout the industry, media companies are searching for opportunities to boost their streaming services, including by bundling services together through commercial partnerships, in order to compete more effectively with leaders in the field such as Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+.

Some mergers have already occurred, such as Amazon.com Inc. in May purchashinig Hollywood studio MGM. In addition,  AT&T Inc. is spinning off WarnerMedia, home to HBO Max, into a venture with Discovery Inc.

Some analysts on Wall Street say a Comcast-Viacom merger is a possibility at some point, with Comcast Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh saying at a recent investor event that "We like the hand we have and M&A is not an answer … but we’ll obviously do what’s right for shareholders as time passes," The Wall Street Journal reported.

However, one potential obstacle to a deal between the two companies, which were relatively late to the streaming arena and are now are attempting to make headway both in the U.S. and abroad, is the possibility of pushback from regulators in Washington, according to analysts.

Tech publication the Information reported earlier this month that Comcast and ViacomCBS were in discussions about launching in some international markets, with talk about how a commercial partnership offers some of the benefits of a merger.

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