Paramount/WBD merger settlement gives public 'virtually nothing,' critics tell judge
Free speech and media groups argue California's settlement with Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery won't actually stop price hikes for consumers. The Writers Guild has separately settled its own lawsuit against the merger.
Free speech and media advocacy groups have told a judge that the settlement California's attorney general struck with Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery over their merger gives the public "virtually nothing."
The deal, negotiated by California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office, requires the merged company to conduct separate licensing negotiations for basic cable channels owned by Paramount and Warner Bros. for five years. Bonta's office argues this preserves competitive dynamics between the companies and helps keep consumer prices down.
Gaps in the deal
But the groups' court filing notes the provision doesn't cover premium cable channels, streaming services, or broadcast content. That leaves the combined company free to use leverage from a merged HBO and Showtime, a merged HBO Max and Paramount Plus, and CBS to push up prices in basic cable negotiations, since that form of cross-leveraging isn't restricted. The filing also says the negotiation requirement fails to address concerns that combining the companies' cable portfolios could reduce investment in basic cable channels.
Bonta defended the agreement, saying it secures substantial investment in domestic film production and creates enforceable guardrails to keep cable prices competitive. He stressed the settlement isn't an endorsement of the merger but resolves every antitrust concern raised in the state's case while protecting competition, consumer choice, and workers.
Writers Guild settles separately
The Writers Guild of America reluctantly ended its own lawsuit against the merger after learning of California's agreement. Its settlement bars layoffs of writers in the CBS News broadcast division for five years and requires a $17.5 million payment to the guild's health fund. The Writers Guild said it still believes the merger will harm writers and the broader industry, but as a nonprofit it could not justify pursuing a costly antitrust trial without government backing.
According to a Bloomberg report, attorneys general in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota initially opposed the California deal but ultimately decided that continuing the legal fight wasn't worthwhile without California leading the case.
