California and more move to block Paramount, Warner Bros. merger
California is suing to block the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance merger that California Attorney General Rob Bonta claimed will lead to higher prices, lower quality and less content for film and television - among other alleged harms.
Bonta announced the multi-state lawsuit on Monday, July 13.
A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California described the merger as creating a "media behemoth" and as "likely to substantially harm competition." Movie theaters, audiences and distributors of cable television programming are among those in the entertainment industry that the attorneys general said will face harm by due to the merger in the complaint.
The attorneys general alleged that the merger would lessen competition in the distribution of wide-release theatrical films and the distribution of anticipated top-grossing theatrical films, as well as in licensing basic cable channels to distributors.
In a statement, Paramount said the merger "creates a stronger competitor against dominant streaming and technology platforms who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition and jobs in the entertainment industry."
It'll be "better positioned to compete with companies like Netflix that have come to dominate the industry for audiences, premium content, and creative talent," a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement.
Paramount said the merger will create a company that can invest more aggressively in premium content, theatrical releases and creative talent.
"Put simply, any attempt to block this transaction undermines the very principles antitrust law is designed to promote: more competition, more choice for consumers, and more opportunities for creators and workers," according to a Paramount spokesperson.
One claim made in the complaint is that a combined Warner Bros. and Paramount will have less incentive to create and market new theatrical movies to avoid eating into its own sales; As it stands, both companies compete to release their films during "key windows" yearlong, even during when the other company has films playing, according to the complaint, because "by doing so, each can win sales from the other."
Paramount said it has consistently demonstrated how the merger will "strengthen - not weaken - the creative economy." It pointed to Paramount CEO David Ellison's previous commitment to release at least 30 feature films annually with a 45-day theatrical release window for each movie following the acquisition.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California and more move to block Paramount, Warner Bros. merger
Reporting by Paris Barraza, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM.