California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement Monday that effectively paves the way for Paramount’s mega merger acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, with some new commitments.
The $81 billion blockbuster deal will bring together two of Hollywood’s oldest studios, key TV networks like CBS and CNN and streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+, as well as decades of libraries with titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Top Gun.”
But terms of Monday’s agreement include what Bonta called “court-enforceable” requirements for Skydance-owned Paramount to increase domestic production and establish monitoring of editorial independence of the company’s news operations. The entertainment giant has also agreed to establish an independent board to ensure the editorial independence of CNN and CBS News, according to The New York Times.
The settlement still needs final court approval.
Bonta maintained that Monday’s agreement “is not a vote of support for this merger” — but that he was always willing to come to the table and “find a strong solution that protects competition and consumers.”
Paramount CEO David Ellison, whose father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has closed ties to the Trump administration, thanked Bonta and the other attorneys general, as well as the Writers Guild of America.
“Our shared aim was an outcome that best serves consumers, workers and — most importantly — the creative community so vital to the art of visual storytelling. We’re confident this agreement does exactly that,” David Ellison said in a statement issued through Paramount.
The coalition of states — including entertainment heavyweights like California and New York — sued to block the $81 billion merger back in July, alleging a Paramount-Warner combo would “extinguish competition” and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly movie theatergoers and cable customers across the U.S.
Accompanied by a complaint also filed by the Writers Guild, the challenge was headed toward a full antitrust trial set to kick off in March.
Paramount said the allegations were meritless, but previously agreed to delay its transaction well into next year so the case could make its way through court. It then quickly called for a settlement — arguing that it had satisfied all regulatory clearances worldwide (including from the Trump administration’s Justice Department ) and the states’ challenge was its “final obstacle.”
As reports of the settlement emerged Monday, critics decried it, warning of what further consolidation could mean in an industry already controlled by just a few major players.
“Today, billionaires have yet again bribed, censored, and bullied their way to the top,” Alvaro Bedoya, senior adviser at the American Economic Liberties Project and former FTC commissioner, said in a statement earlier Monday. “Layoffs will follow. People from L.A. to Atlanta will lose their jobs, small businesses will lose their contracts, your cable bill and movie ticket will be even more expensive.”
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