A coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Monday to block the $111 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, citing violations of federal antitrust law.
The legal challenge faces a critical court hearing on Friday to determine whether a judge will temporarily halt the transaction, which previously received Department of Justice approval in June.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the litigation, expressed confidence in the state-level challenge under the Clayton Act to prevent illegal market concentration in the film and television sectors.
"In our complaint, it's really clean, clear, concise," said Bonta.
Bonta pointed out that the data presented in the complaint traditionally forms the basis for courts to find such corporate mergers presumptively unlawful.
"It's precise with the data points that we've shared and courts have traditionally accepted exactly those types of arguments and that kind of data as a basis for finding a merger to be presumptively unlawful," said Bonta.
The California attorney general also expressed regret over the lack of bipartisan support for this specific case, noting that antitrust matters should remain non-partisan.
"I hope it's not because of any pressure from the head of the Republican party, Donald Trump, on any those Republican entities, because antitrust cases should be non-partisan or bipartisan," said Bonta.
Bonta emphasized that these cases are ultimately about maintaining free and fair markets.
"They're just about free and fair markets, and I think we all agree on that," said Bonta.
Impact on Journalism and Competition
Bonta further warned that consolidating major news outlets like CBS News and CNN under a single corporate umbrella would directly harm the journalism industry.
"It also means less news," said Bonta.
He noted that workforce reductions inevitably lead to diminished perspectives and fewer investigative stories.
"Less journalists doing less investigative journalism, telling fewer stories, doing less truth telling and truth seeking. And so that has an impact on CNN and CBS, that argument.
And we make an argument that when you have workforce reductions, then you get less perspectives and less diversity of viewpoints and less volume of viewpoints," said Bonta.
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown expressed surprise at the high volume of public concern regarding reduced streaming competition and potential price hikes.
He also raised concerns about media consolidation and its impact on the distribution of information.
"I think that we need more voices out there explaining to people what's happening in their country and in their governments," said Brown.
Brown stated that having fewer entities controlling major news sources raises significant red flags.
"And so when you see fewer people in control of more news sources, I think it really is something that raises red flags for me," said Brown.
He dismissed political dynamics, including corporate ties to the Trump administration, as irrelevant to the legal challenge.
"We're not going to be impeded by the politics of it. We're not going to be impeded by the close relationship that Paramount leadership has with the president.
That's irrelevant to us," said Brown.
Brown asserted that the primary focus of the attorneys general remains the legal violations and public harm.
"What's most relevant is the harm that is being done and the laws that were broken, and that's why we take on this fight," said Brown.
Responding to suggestions that the lawsuit might only delay the merger, Brown clarified that the coalition aims for a complete halt.
"We want it to be blocked and that's what we're asking for," said Brown.
He explained that the states are not looking for a mere tactical delay in the corporate timeline.
"And I think we're in the early stages of what possible remedies that there could be, but we don't simply want to just delay it.
We want to stop it," said Brown.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport highlighted consumer costs and market competition as the state's primary concerns, especially given recent local studio investments.
Netflix and Lionsgate have committed to major production facilities in New Jersey, while Paramount is slated as the anchor tenant for the 58-acre 1888 Studios.
"We just knew that it was bad for New Jerseyans," said Davenport.
Davenport emphasized the necessity of fighting for industry competition amid rising nationwide living costs.
"This is more important than ever that we fight for the competition in the industry, because we are seeing it as just another component of rising costs in our state," said Davenport.
She noted that while New Jersey has a historical and growing film industry, the merger threatens local artists and storytellers.
"Yes, we do have a burgeoning film industry, and yes, we were the birthplace of the American film industry," said Davenport.
Davenport concluded that the resulting lack of competition would ultimately harm both consumers and the next generation of industry workers.
"But ultimately, when we think about what the harm is to New Jersey, we see rising costs – not just for consumers, but we also see that lack of competition that could happen here.
And that's bad for the industry as well, for artists, for storytellers and the next generation of people who are going to work in this business," said Davenport.
