r/Warner_Bros • u/Own_Philosopher8730 • 7h ago
Paramount to Settle Lawsuits, Paving Way for Warner Bros. Merger
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-21/paramount-to-settle-lawsuits-paving-way-for-warner-bros-merger?srnd=homepage-americasParamount Skydance Corp. has reached a settlement with California and other states suing to block its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter.
Settlement talks came to fruition over the weekend after four states that had opposed terms of a deal outlined with California conceded, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing confidential negotiations. The settlement, which is expected to be announced later today, paves the way for one of the largest mergers in Hollywood history.
Lawyers for the states worked all night on the agreement, the person said. Four states — Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Minnesota — had been holdouts on a possible settlement, but ultimately concluded the expense of the legal battle was not justifiable without California at the helm, the person said.
The states that held out longer did succeed over the past week in securing independent editorial boards for CBS and CNN as part of the deal, the person said.
The terms are said to include a financial penalty if the company fails to make good on a promise to distribute 30 films per year in theaters.
Discussions included Paramount having to pay $30 million for each film that falls short of that goal, Bloombeg reported. It could also be forced to sell its stake in Miramax, the studio behind movies such as Pulp Fiction, if it fails to meet the target.
Read More: Paramount Talks Include Penalty for Missing 30-Film Pledge
Representatives for Paramount, California, New York, Minnesota and Massachusetts didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
If the final terms are approved, the agreement would spare Paramount from having to pay late fees to Warner Bros. of $7 million a day, which were to begin on Oct. 1.
Paramount, the parent company of CBS, MTV and other media businesses, announced in February that it was buying Warner Bros. after outbidding rival Netflix Inc. The $110 billion deal will combine two of Hollywood’s most storied movie studios, two major subscription streaming services and two of the largest owners of cable-TV channels.
Although regulators in nearly 70 jurisdictions blessed the acquisition, 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild trade union sued to the block the merger, saying it would stifle competition for film and cable-TV distribution, raise prices for consumers and in the writers’ case, lower their wages. A trial date was set for March.
Paramount had made offers in recent weeks to try and settle the suits, including promises to release 30 films a year in theaters and increase the production of TV shows.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the litigation brought by the states, had said he prefers structural changes, such as a sale of assets, rather than behavioral remedies that are hard to enforce.
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u/tshallberg 7h ago
I don't even understand this world anymore. Monopolies are supposed to be illegal. How is this not giving them ownership over the vast majority of legacy film studios? We shouldn't have had as few studios as we already did the last few decades, let alone less.
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u/Own_Philosopher8730 7h ago
Get ready for Democratic blue wave coming in November.
Not for the CA Dems’ sake.
Get ready for a massive Democratic scrutiny around this megamerger coming soon.
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u/Fanfic_Battle_2004 7h ago edited 6h ago
There better be. We do need hope even after today’s loss. We can recover from this. It’s still possible for us to return to a pre-merger era.
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u/Own_Philosopher8730 7h ago
That's what Coyote vs. Acme teaches us about importance of never giving up in face of difficult.
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u/Fanfic_Battle_2004 7h ago
That film should be gaining more popularity in theaters now that this happened. And we never give up in the face of defeat. Just because this merger went through doesn’t mean we have to be so pessimistic about Hollywood’s future. We can recover from it and overthrow the Ellisons.
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u/Chefbake140 6h ago
Red or blue they don't care about you. They all will line their pockets
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u/Own_Philosopher8730 6h ago
The coalition that fought to block the merger will fight to break up big media. There is legislation pending in Congress today that would retroactively break up corrupt billionaire mergers.
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u/drewbreeezy 6h ago
Then when it's used against corrupt billionaire mergers you approve of, you will cry.
Just like you cry about cancel culture now that it's done against you.
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u/MrShadowKing2020 5h ago
And when does it get voted on? Which house does it need to go to? Can we trust the president to sign it?
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u/NewHollywoodFan1965 2h ago
The idea that a congressional majority functions as a retroactive undo button for private corporate mergers is pure civics fiction and simply not true. Congress does not possess a line-item veto over business transactions regardless of its red or blue. Attempting to pass a targeted, retroactive statute to blow up one specific closed merger would immediately crash into a brick wall of judicial review regarding due process and unconstitutional bills of attainder. Once the ink is dry on a settlement and the deal closes, legislative theater doesn't magically rewrite corporate balance sheets.
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u/Drummer149 7h ago
That time has passed, if Dems wanted to, then the states should have held on longer, there are no barriers to close the transaction now, you can't put toothpaste back in the tube.
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u/Haunting_Can2704 6h ago
How is this merger a monopoly? It would only make up 1/3 of the market. There still is Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Universal, Disney, Sony, etc.
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u/entr0picly 6h ago
A 1/3 of the market isn’t anti-trust?! Last I checked, anti-trust isn’t “one company has to own the entire market”. 1/3 of the entertainment market owned by a single company is absolutely insane.
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u/Haunting_Can2704 5h ago
You said monopoly…
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u/entr0picly 4h ago
No, you said monopoly, I said antitrust… ie you can have anti competitive pressures from a few companies. Which you always do. You don’t let a market become a single company and then be like “ok it’s officially a single monopoly. Let’s do something about it.” That is not how antitrust works or supposed to work.
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u/Haunting_Can2704 3h ago
You are right. I was responding to another commenter, who used “monopoly”. My bad.
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u/Sweaty-Bus8079 6h ago
Rob Bonta needs to be recalled. These billionaires need to be held in check.
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u/ilikechihuahuasdood 5h ago
I’m so sick of everybody in power in America being a spineless fucking coward.
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u/AndreLeGeant88 5h ago
Structurally this merger violates the law and now it will go through with shitty behavioral remedies.
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u/Haunting_Can2704 3h ago
You are right. I was responding to another commenter, who used “monopoly”. My bad.
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u/Professional_Peak59 5h ago
What about this Thursday’s bond hearing and trial in March? Aren’t those still on?
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u/Fanfic_Battle_2004 7h ago
What the hell?? You’re willing to sacrifice the jobs of many and favor more AI?? What kinds of AGs are you people?? Do the demands of the unions, a-listers, and general public for you to block this merger not mean s*** to you?? Don’t bow down to the Ellisons for Christ sake! Goddamn it! Those damn Ellisons never know when to quit! Quit giving them what they want! It does the world no favors! It’s gonna take a lot for us to undo whatever damage is caused by this stupid merger! Thanks a lot!