States settle lawsuit over Paramount-Warner merger, clearing key hurdle for $81 billion deal

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Paramount in a lawsuit his state led challenging the company's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, effectively paving the way for the mega merger to move forward, with some new commitments.

The $81 billion blockbuster deal will bring together two of Hollywood’s oldest studios, key TV networks like CBS and CNN and streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+, as well as decades of libraries with titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Top Gun.”

But terms of Monday’s agreement include what Bonta called “court enforceable” requirements for Skydance-owned Paramount to increase domestic production and establish monitoring of editorial independence of the company's news operations.

The settlement still needs final court approval. Bonta maintained that Monday's agreement “is not a vote of support for this merger" — but that he was always willing to come to the table and “find a strong solution that protects competition and consumers.”

The coalition of states — including entertainment heavyweights like California and New York — sued to block the merger back in July, alleging a Paramount-Warner combo would “extinguish competition” and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly movie theatergoers and cable customers across the U.S.

Accompanied by a complaint also filed by the Writers Guild of America, the challenge was headed toward a full antitrust trial set to kick off in March.

Paramount said the allegations were meritless, but previously agreed to delay its transaction well into next year so the case could make its way through court. It then quickly called for a settlement — arguing that it had satisfied all regulatory clearances worldwide (including from the Trump administration’s Justice Department ) and the states’ challenge was its “final obstacle.”

As reports of the states reaching a settlement with Paramount emerged Monday, critics decried the deal — while warning of what further consolidation could mean in an industry already controlled by just a few major players.

“Today, billionaires have yet again bribed, censored, and bullied their way to the top,” Alvaro Bedoya, senior adviser at the American Economic Liberties Project and former FTC commissioner, said in a statement earlier Monday. “Layoffs will follow. People from L.A. to Atlanta will lose their jobs, small businesses will lose their contracts, your cable bill and movie ticket will be even more expensive.”