Posted on 07/13/2026 10:06:05 AM PDT by DFG
A coalition of 12 Democratic attorneys general led by California filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the $110 billion merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance, despite the deal having been approved by the Trump administration.
“The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
The legal challenge comes just days after reports that advisers close to Ellison had encouraged him to consider relocating Paramount’s headquarters and shifting as much as $30 billion in planned content spending outside California if Bonta sued to stop the merger.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues the merger would violate federal antitrust law by substantially reducing competition in the film and television industries.
The combined company would control nearly one-third of the U.S. theatrical film distribution market and almost one-third of the nation’s basic cable programming, according to the complaint.
The coalition warned it will seek a temporary restraining order if Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance move to finalize the merger before the court has a chance to rule. The attorneys general argue the deal would result in higher prices, fewer choices for consumers, reduced investment in film and television content, and diminished competition for movie theaters and cable providers.
The lawsuit represents the most significant legal threat facing the merger after the Trump Department of Justice approved the acquisition in June without requiring the companies to sell any assets or accept behavioral conditions.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
For once it’s not our AG.
WBD was being shopped around. Netflix quickly emerged as the presumptive buyer. The problem is that Netflix by a wide margin is the industry leader in streaming, primarily due to first mover advantage.
A Netflix takeover of WBD, which has HBO, would have created a streaming colossus with far greater antitrust concerns than the production studio consolidation arising from the Paramount deal.
That would have been compounded by the fact that Netflix, long strictly a distributor, has been historically hostile to theatrical distribution. Netflix is in the subscription and data harvesting businesses and actively prefers that you watch from the couch.
The consolidation of two of the remaining Big Five legacy studios does not especially concern me. New production companies are formed all the time. Sound stages are popping up in many places and production capacity can be leased. Or you can go out and film on location with hand held cameras or on an iPhone, fixing whatever in post.
In terms of physical production capacity, the barriers to entry are low. The costs of actually shooting something continue to decline unless they are spending big bucks on A-list movie stars, ever splashier special effects, and general big studio bloat. But to shoot a traditional drama or comedy that depends on good writing, good acting, and good direction is probably cheaper than ever.
The key chokepoints today are distribution, which is now dominated by the large streamers, and financing. The pure indie movies are still shot on a shoestring by the folks who take out second mortgages and max out their credit cards to make low and ultra low budget films. The consolidation of WBD and Paramount just opens some additional space for startups and smaller independent studios to grow.
Streaming is the cancer that is killing the industry. If the choice is between Netflix or Paramount Discovery buying WBD, I’m in favor of ParamountDiscovery.
‘Supergirl’ disproves this point. You can’t get lower quality from there.
I doubt these Dem AGs will win their case if it even goes to trial. That being said, I expect that both Paramount and Warner Bros. studios will move out of California. Newsom and Bonta are the two biggest frauds in California, although Newsom’s wife is definitely a runner-up.
A number of things will happen regardless of the outcome. Paramount will move their corporate headquarters out of state. Both studios still have debt get rid of. Movie and television for all studios will still shift production out of state to cheaper areas.
Good point.
Personally I don’t care what happens with the proposed merger. I was just opining on whether there was a valid case based on antitrust laws and why Trump was involved.
Watch them try.
“The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
Movies are so bad they are on YouTube in days after being released, they bomb at the box office and who in their right mind would pay the exorbitant cost to get in to a theater and have to subject them selves to and suffer the cell phone tweaking obnoxious crowds because ‘common curtsy, etiquette’ have left the building?!?!?!?!?!?!?
More girl bosses! Lol.
Shudder.
Have you not seen Star Wars VIII?
The reality is this has nothing to do with antitrust. It is all about the Ellisons controlling CNN.
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