DOJ approves Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. – JURIST

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday gave approval to the merger of two Hollywood studio giants, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. Their approval ends the DOJ’s legal analysis of the merger and paves the way for Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., which, if finalized, would leave all of their assets and services, including HBO Max and CNN, under Paramount’s control.

The merger has sparked a slew of backlash and anti-trust concerns from players in the entertainment industry as combining the two studios would leave only four major US film studios in tact: Paramount, Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures, and Sony Pictures. In an open letter opposing the merger, Hollywood workers expressed concern that merging the companies will create less healthy competition in the market, resulting in fewer opportunities, fewer jobs, higher costs, and less options for viewers.

However, in their statement, the DOJ responded by indicating that their investigation into the anti-trust implications resulted in evidence-based findings that the transaction will likely not harm competition or consumers in regard to streaming, cable television, or theatrical releases.

In fact, they conveyed just the opposite—that the “extensive regulatory record” reviewed by the DOJ suggests that the impact of the transaction will create more competition within the media industry, yielding benefits for American workers and consumers. Officials at Paramount have echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that they intend to put out 30 theatrical releases a year, the combined amount released by each studio in a given year.

Paramount has been a frontrunner in the competition to acquire the larger Warner Bros. since Netflix pulled back from negotiations in December. The two studios officially reached a merger agreement in February, fueling concerns not only about media consolidation, but about the political implications of the deal, as the company is headed by David Ellis, longtime ally of President Donald Trump.

Ellis and Paramount have recently faced backlash over the structure and treatment of journalists at CBS, sparking the worry that similar issues will arise should the company acquire CNN from Warner Bros.

The deal is not yet finalized and could face suits both nationally and internationally by the European Union, due to the anti-trust implications and concerns over financial backing by foreign subsidies. In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed his intent to investigate the legality of the merger in regards to the anti-trust laws.

In a social media post on Friday, he indicated that the merger is not a done deal and remains under investigation by his office.