{"id":3690,"date":"2026-07-13T18:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3690"},"modified":"2026-07-13T18:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:40:12","slug":"paramount-warner-bros-discovery-states-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3690","title":{"rendered":"States make last-ditch effort to stop the Paramount \u2018media behemoth\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A dozen state attorneys general are trying to block the $110 billion merger<\/a> of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery they warn would raise movie prices and crush cable TV distributors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The states \u2014 California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington \u2014 filed suit on Monday, arguing the combination would illegally harm competition and create a \u201cmedia behemoth.\u201d Last month, the Justice Department declined to block<\/a> the merger in a decision that The Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported<\/a> surprised career staff who were leaning toward recommending a lawsuit. In an exit interview with Politico<\/em><\/a>, former DOJ acting antitrust chief Omeed Assefi rejected the report as \u201cnot accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201c[F]or every dollar generated by wide-release theatrical films and basic cable channels in this country, the combined company will pocket more than a quarter\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But according to the states\u2019 lawsuit<\/a>, the merger would result in a consolidation of two out of the five \u201cmajor film distributors\u201d and basic cable channel owners, meaning that, \u201cfor every dollar generated by wide-release theatrical films and basic cable channels in this country, the combined company will pocket more than a quarter.\u201d In a press release<\/a>, Paramount said the lawsuit was \u201cbased on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry today\u201d and that delaying it would harm consumers and entertainment talent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The merger has raised alarms both in Hollywood and in political circles, in part because it would put CNN under the control of David Ellison, son of close President Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison. Some former CBS journalists<\/a> have warned of politically charged interference in programming after Ellison tapped The Free Press<\/em> founder Bari Weiss to head the network, and ratings under Weiss have reportedly dipped<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The lawsuit threatens to be costly for Paramount if it delays the deal from closing by September 30th. It\u2019s committed<\/a> to a 25 cent per share \u201cticking fee\u201d to WBD shareholders for each quarter it\u2019s delayed beyond that, about $650 million<\/a> per quarter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A dozen state attorneys general are trying to block the $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery they warn would raise movie prices and crush cable TV distributors. The states \u2014 California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington \u2014 filed suit on Monday, arguing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[248,64,46,74,75],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-antitrust","tag-entertainment","tag-news","tag-policy","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nStates make last-ditch effort to stop the Paramount \u2018media behemoth\u2019 - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A long delay of the Warner Bros Discovery merger could cost Paramount hundreds of millions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=3690\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"States make last-ditch effort to stop the Paramount \u2018media behemoth\u2019 - 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