Paramount Warner Brothers Merger

What did Paramount promise Hollywood to secure WBD?– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser September 28, 2026 0

What did Paramount promise Hollywood to secure WBD?– www.cnbc.com
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A new movie every 11 days? That’s what Paramount’s David Ellison is promising after clearing a path this week for his company’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, combining two storied Hollywood studios.

The CEO’s settlement with a group of state attorneys general over antitrust concerns stipulates that the newly minted company will release at least 30 films into theaters in 2027 and 2028 and at least 32 films in 2029, 2030 and 2031.

Currently, the combined entity has 35 films scheduled for release next year, according to data from Rentrak.

But questions remain about what caliber of releases the industry can expect — and what happens after the five-year agreement expires.

“This is much more complicated than simply asking whether 30 movies is enough,” Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak, told CNBC. “Thirty wide releases would represent a meaningful commitment to theatrical, and I think everyone in exhibition would welcome a robust pipeline of films.

“But ultimately the proof will be in how those movies perform, how varied the slate is, how consistently they reach theaters and how the combined company executes on those commitments,” he said.

Opposition grows to Paramount-Warner Bros. merger settlement– www.latimes.com

pgnewser September 25, 2026 0

Opposition grows to Paramount-Warner Bros. merger settlement– www.latimes.com
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Tensions flared on the eve of a critical week ahead for Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, amid new urgency for talks aimed at settling antitrust litigation brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and 11 other states.

Over the weekend, opposition intensified to a proposed settlement as details trickled out, including a proposal to establish a bipartisan editorial board to monitor cable news channel CNN, one of Warner’s premier properties that Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison would control along with CBS News.

It was unclear Sunday whether a proposed settlement would require Paramount to sell off assets — something Bonta repeatedly has insisted upon. Critics of the deal urged Bonta and other state attorneys general to resist pressure to reach a settlement that would allow Ellison’s deal to move forward.

“State Attorneys General, please hang tough against the giant proposed Paramount-Warner Brothers merger,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote on social media late Saturday.

“Paramount, run by the Ellisons, should not own both CBS and CNN. California must not cave and take a deal that leaves both under the same owner,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) wrote.

The Consent Decree Between Paramount And California Is Insane– thefederalist.com

pgnewser September 23, 2026 0

The Consent Decree Between Paramount And California Is Insane– thefederalist.com
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Democracy is that Democrats oversee television news. Take it from Gavin Newsom’s halfwit communications director, who looks like he was rejected as an extra for High School Musical:

 

See, now a state government with single-party rule has “oversight” authority with news organizations, which preserves the independence of the journalists. For media, “independence” is when the news answers to the attorney general of California.

Pressured by the rise of streamers, the traditional movie studios Paramount and Warner Bros. pursued a merger to make a giant studio with a deep library of media product. Oleaginous California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to stop the merger, joined by other Democrat AGs, with a bunch of far-left idiots cheering him on.

Paramount weighs moving CBS News out of NYC amid merger battle with AGs Letitia James, Rob Bonta: report | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser August 26, 2026 0

Paramount weighs moving CBS News out of NYC amid merger battle with AGs Letitia James, Rob Bonta: report | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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CBS News employs roughly 1200 people worldwide with a large portion based in the Big Apple.

Paramount CEO David Ellison is reportedly considering moving CBS News out of New York City as the company’s legal fight with its state attorney general over its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery heats up.

Sources close to Paramount told The New York Post that moving CBS would give Elison greater leverage against the California Attorney General led coalition of 12 states looking to block the merger.

CBS News employs roughly 1,200 people worldwide with a large portion based in the Big Apple. A massive relocation would no doubt have a major impact on jobs and the city’s media industry.

One media executive familiar with Paramount’s plans said Ellison could potentially move CBS News operations to Atlanta, where CNN is headquartered. The possible relocation is being considered as part of emergency plans if Paramount’s legal fight with state officials continues long past October.

The CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan could also be sold for billions of dollars, according to a source close to the company.

Judge Pauses Paramount-Warner Deal for Two Weeks

pgnewser July 23, 2026 0

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California has put a two-week hold on the DOJ-approved Paramount-Warner merger. The deal is being held up by a California lawsuit seeking to prevent it from happening. The judge was nominated by former President Joe Biden.

Calif. Federal Judge Pauses Paramount-WBD Merger – tctechnology.com
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A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order pausing the $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery as she considers a ruling on a preliminary Injunction in an antitrust case filed by 12 attorneys general.

The July 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California pauses the deal for 14 days while she considers a preliminary injunction, which would block the merger for the duration of the litigation and impose substantial costs on Paramount.

“My office and attorneys general nationwide have secured an emergency order blocking the unlawful merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading a coalition of states seeking to block the deal on antitrust grounds. “This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day. …With our lawsuit, we’re fighting for a free and fair market and a thriving film and television industry that serves creatives and audiences alike.”

As previously reported, the case argues that the deal, the largest in Hollywood history, would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of the five major owners of basic cable channels, “inflicting substantial harm on movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences nationwide.”

The deal has been approved by the Justice Department and Paramount had been hoping to close it as early as July 22.

ABC, NBC SILENT On Dem Suit to Block Paramount-WBD Deal– www.newsbusters.org

pgnewser July 14, 2026 0

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The Elitist Media appear to circle the wagons as the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger approaches, terrified that CNN might face editorial standards approaching fairness. Perhaps this explains why news of the California-led Democrat lawsuit to block the deal was left off of the evening news on ABC and NBC.

The CBS Evening News did cover the lawsuit. Here is that brief in its entirety, as aired on Monday, July 13th, 2026:

TONY DOKOUPIL: Some news tonight concerning Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News. 12 states filed an antitrust suit today aiming to block the roughly $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery. The state attorneys general, all Democrats, said the deal would create a monopoly and undermine competition, violating a century-old law. Paramount Skydance argues the opposite, that the merger would increase jobs and increase consumer choice. Government regulators in several other countries have signed off and so has the U.S. Department of Justice.

There is more to the story than Dokoupil could cram into that brief towards the end of their A-block. Per NPR:

A dozen states, led by California, are suing to block Paramount from buying Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood mega-merger that would unite some of the nation’s largest movie studios, television newsrooms, and other entertainment properties.

“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 announcing the suit, which was filed in federal court in California’s Northern District.

Paramount CEO David Ellison Backing Bill for Federal Film Tax Incentive– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser July 14, 2026 0

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David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, has reportedly been backing a bill for a federal film tax incentive that has bipartisan support.

Multiple sources confirmed to Variety that that Ellison has spent at “least six months in exploratory meetings for the proposed legislation.” Ellison also met with Republican leaders in Washington, D.C., on Monday to discuss the legislation.

A federal film tax incentive would provide significant financial relief to content producers fleeing the U.S. for rebates around the world. A federal program would also sweeten the deal in Hollywood’s home state of California, whose AG Rob Bonta is leading the charge on the searing antitrust lawsuit waged today against Ellison over Warner Bros.

Paramount Vows to ‘Vigorously’ Fight California’s Lawsuit to Block Warner Bros. Discovery Merger– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser July 14, 2026 0

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NEW YORK (AP) — Twelve states sued to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, arguing that the $81 billion merger would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers across the U.S.

“Audiences on every sofa and in every movie (theater) seat would feel the impact of this unlawful merger,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the case, said in a news conference from Los Angeles. He said the deal would result in higher prices, fewer movies and TV shows and lower quality of content overall.

Paramount, pushing to buy Warner Bros., girds for legal challenges– www.latimes.com

pgnewser May 26, 2026 0

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Is Paramount making a Tony Soprano move?

David Ellison’s media company appears to be girding for a big battle with California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and fellow state attorneys general who may team up to file a lawsuit aiming to block Paramount’s proposed $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Last week, Paramount hired powerhouse antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler to help defend its proposed takeover of Warner, which owns CNN, TBS, HBO and the prestigious Burbank film and television studios.

Kessler — co-executive chairman of Winston & Strawn in New York — is one of the nation’s top antitrust lawyers. He most recently led the state attorneys’ case against concert promoter and ticketing firm Live Nation, resulting in a monumental win for the states, including California.