Does anyone else think this is a horrible deal for Sony? I can see this failing for four key reasons: 

1. When was the last large successful media merger? Just look at Disney-Fox, Comcast-Sky, AT&T-Time Warner, Warner Media-Discovery, etc. and there are many more smaller examples. 

2. When is the last time a smaller media company bought a larger media company and was successful? Do you know why this rarely works? If the smaller company was better run, it wouldn't be the smaller company... Yes Sony is much larger than Paramount, but Sony Picture Entertainment is much smaller. If you think SPE is better run than Paramount already, it is only because it doesn't have the toxic assets that it would be acquiring from Paramount (Cable networks, broadcast network, streaming service).

3. If you're buying Paramount because you lack scale, you'd probably be better off selling SPE or continue to run the business as a subscale player. We all know the playbook here if the two combine. Layoff thousands or even tens of thousands of employees, further cut costs by reducing production values and axing riskier/niche projects and lowering overall output. The result is a company smaller than the sum of the parts with lower cost & revenue but higher overall debt load. 

4. How long will it take? Will the merger take over a year to close with regulatory review? Will politician on both sides of the aisle be okay with a foreign company owning a major US news network? How long will it then take to strip the company for its parts as is rumored? This could be years in the making while the rest of the industry continues to evolve around you. Think you can sell CBS and the cable networks? Enjoy losing all the sports deals. Then what do you do with streaming?

The Sony Apollo acquisition of Paramount is a game changer. Paramount brings with it a strong lineup of franchises, which could greatly benefit from Sony's resources and global reach. This could mean easier access to Paramount content through Sony's existing platforms. This could also lead to collaborations and innovations in storytelling, influencing content creation, distribution strategies, and market competition.

Similar to what Marvel has done with its films. They could combine their intellectual properties to develop expansive storylines that span multiple movies and TV shows, offering audiences a cohesive and immersive entertainment experience. Utilizing Sony's expertise in gaming and Paramount's strength in film and television, the companies could develop cross-platform storytelling experiences. For example, they could create video games based on popular Paramount movie franchises, with storylines that complement and expand upon the narratives seen in the films or vice versa turn games into films like with what they've done with The Last of Us on HBO Max, and the up coming God of War series appearing on Amazon Video.

A curious strategy to give as key reasons for your prediction... a bunch of questions.
Although it´s reasonable to ask questions if you don´t understand basic elements.
The thing is, your angle of a smaller company buying bigger is what describes the alternate deal, albeit in form of reverse buy-out.
In fact, I believe that deal is hinged on further debt, while Sony´s proposition with Apollo investment fund is not.
(so, had one tried to specify a value of debt before commenting on it, one could recognize that said value may be zero)
AFAIK, the idea is Sony would not own stations which are under US anti-foreign ownership regulations, Apollo would.
These are functionally distinct business units which had long existed separate from e.g. film studios, so I don´t see problem in separating them.
Mostly I see it as about scale, either for own offering via Paramount CBS´ steaming platform, or in deals with other streaming partners.
Paramount has a lot of distribution for deals for outside properties.
Am I particularly happy about this kind of deal? No. But it seems like it makes more sense than MS´ ABK acquisition at peak just before crash.
And I was expecting deals in this area (media), before anything major in gaming.
So I guess that is a ¨mostly disagree¨.