That’s Not All Folks: Attorney General Bonta Files Emergency Motion to Immediately Block Warner Bros./Paramount Merger

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a coalition of 12 attorneys general in filing a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction to immediately block the $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Warner Bros.) by Paramount Skydance Corporation (Paramount), a deal that would likely lead to higher prices for audiences, lower quality, and less content for film and television. Earlier today, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition sued to stop the merger and asked Warner Bros. and Paramount not to close the merger until after the judicial process has a chance to fully evaluate the merger; they did not agree to the request.

“The unlawful merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount would harm movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” said Attorney General Bonta. “These titans of industry must not move to merge until a court properly evaluates our claims. Today, alongside a coalition of attorneys general, I’ve filed an emergency motion asking the court to immediately stop this merger. I will not let Warner Bros. and Paramount merge without a fight.” 

BACKGROUND 

The proposed merger, the largest in Hollywood history, would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of the five major basic cable channel owners, extinguishing competition between Paramount and Warner Bros., and inflicting substantial harm on movie theaters, basic cable distributors and, ultimately, audiences nationwide. In the U.S. alone, if allowed to merge, the combined titan would control nearly one-third of theatrical motion picture distribution, and nearly one-third of basic cable programming.

For more than a century, Warner Bros. and Paramount have stood astride the film and television industry as independent sources of creativity and competition. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which holds that mergers that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal. The attorneys general allege that if Warner Bros. and Paramount are allowed to merge, it would lessen competition in the areas of wide release theatrical film distribution, anticipated top-grossing theatrical film distribution, and the licensing of basic cable television channels. Currently, Paramount and Warner Bros. compete fiercely to create and distribute new, different, and innovative film and television content to American viewers. The proposed deal will end this competition, threatening viewers with higher prices, the decline of theatrical exhibition of films, and a reduction in the variety, quality, and amount of content distributed.

In filing today’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, Attorney General Bonta leads the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.