business
Federal Regulators Approve Warner Bros. Discovery Acquisition; Twelve States Sue to Block Paramount Skydance Deal
California and 11 other states filed an antitrust lawsuit Monday in federal court to halt the $110 billion merger. The complaint alleges reduced competition in theatrical film distribution and basic cable channels.
Jul 12, 4:17 PM·1m read18 sources
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Twelve state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to block Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The complaint names attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington. It alleges the transaction would violate the Clayton Act by reducing competition in wide-release theatrical film distribution, anticipated top-grossing film distribution and licensing of basic cable channels.
The combined company would hold a 27 percent share of the wide-release theatrical distribution market and three-tenths of anticipated top-grossing films, the complaint states.
It would also control 27 percent of the market for distributing basic cable channels to satellite and cable providers, where Warner Bros. Discovery ranks second and Paramount ranks third. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the merger would lead to higher prices, lower quality and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors and audiences.
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division approved the $110 billion merger in mid-June, concluding it was not likely to harm competition or consumers in streaming, pay TV or movie production and distribution. The state lawsuit came one month later. At the end of March 2026, Warner Bros.
Discovery had more than 140 million streaming subscribers globally while Paramount+ had 79.6 million. Paramount CEO David Ellison has said the combined company would release at least 30 films per year. The state attorneys general are expected to seek an injunction to prevent the deal from closing.
The European Commission has a provisional deadline of July 22, 2026, for its review, and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation in June. Discovery have headquarters in California.
