Overview
- Five Paramount subscribers filed a federal antitrust complaint Thursday in San Jose seeking to block the $110–111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, unwind Skydance’s takeover of Paramount, and recover treble damages under the Clayton Act.
- Plaintiffs say the tie-up would raise streaming prices, cut the number of films released, and narrow choices for viewers, citing an estimated 23.6% theatrical market share for a combined studio and a sharper concentration among the top four distributors.
- The complaint also argues news competition would suffer by placing CNN and CBS News under one owner, which the plaintiffs say could weaken editorial independence and viewpoint diversity.
- Paramount Skydance says the case is without merit and argues the merger would create a stronger rival to tech giants, with CEO David Ellison pledging at least 30 theatrical releases a year with minimum 45‑day windows.
- In a separate challenge, Rep. Sam Liccardo urged the FCC on Friday to reject Paramount’s petition to permit large non‑voting stakes by Saudi, UAE, and Qatari sovereign funds, as the FCC accepts public comments through May 27 and refers the filing for national‑security review, while DOJ, state AGs, and UK/EU regulators continue broader merger reviews after Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the deal on April 23.