Paramount Skydance has reached a settlement with 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America, removing a major obstacle to its roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The agreement, announced on September 21 and led on the states’ side by California’s attorney general Rob Bonta, ends an antitrust challenge that had threatened to delay or block a deal that would create one of the largest media companies in the world.
Under the settlement, Paramount agreed to a series of production commitments. The company will release a minimum of 30 films in cinemas each year for two years after the deal closes, rising to 32 a year for the following three years, with at least four independent titles and a set share of larger releases annually. It also agreed to fund an independent film programme with annual contributions over five years.
The company committed to increase domestic production spending by $300 million a year over five years, a total of $1.5 billion, aimed at supporting jobs in the United States. It further agreed to negotiate cable channel packages separately to preserve competition, and to establish a board to protect the editorial independence of CBS News and CNN. The concessions were designed to address concerns that a combined company could cut output or limit competition.
“This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger,” Bonta said, adding that the states had been willing to enter honest, good-faith negotiations. The comment signalled that regulators remained wary of consolidation in the media industry even as they agreed terms that allowed the transaction to move ahead toward a formal close.
The deal would combine two of the largest names in film and television at a time when streaming has upended the economics of the business. Regulators and unions had warned that consolidation could cut the number of films and shows produced and reduce work for writers and crews. Earlier in the year Paramount paid Netflix $2.8 billion to end a prior agreement tied to Warner Bros. Discovery. With the settlement filed for court approval, attention turned to when the merger would formally close.
