Paramount, states to settle antitrust litigation
Por Daniel Miller — POLITICO – TOP Stories
LOS ANGELES — Paramount Skydance and the states that sued to block the company’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery are poised to settle the antitrust litigation, clearing the way for the blockbuster transaction to close, a person familiar with the negotiation confirmed to POLITICO.
The settlement, first reported by Bloomberg, ends a fractious two-month legal battle that was seen as a major test of California’s ability to exert regulatory power over a high-profile business deal that Donald Trump signaled he wanted completed — and a defining moment for California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose national profile had risen during the dispute.
Amid the legal battle, Paramount considered leaving California. POLITICO reported last week that representatives of the company had sought about 400,000 square feet of space in Nashville that it could move into in two to three years.
Bonta insisted for weeks — amid pressure from Hollywood unions including the Directors Guild of America and politicians such as Gov. Gavin Newsom and gubernatorial frontrunnerXavier Becerra — that while settling a dispute between Paramount and the 12 states in “the boardroom” was preferable to litigation, he was focused on bringing the case to trial next March. Last month, Bonta scuttled planned settlement talks with Paramount and accused the company of leaking information about the contours of the negotiations, a claim the company denied.
The $111 billion deal allows Paramount to combine its namesake streaming service with HBO Max, creating a new one with about 200 million subscribers. That would help Paramount compete against companies such as Netflix, which boasts more than 325 million subscribers worldwide. Warner Bros. Discovery also includes a namesake film and television studio and CNN, the network with which Trump has repeatedly clashed and said should be sold.
The New York Times reported concessions include Paramount establishing a board of journalists to ensure editorial independence of CNN and CBS News and spending $1.5 billion more on film production over five years.
By combining two rival studios, the deal is sure to upend the Hollywood ecosystem, which has already been wounded by the decades-long loss of production to overseas locales offering juicy tax incentives.
Bonta’s complaint focused on three markets in which it alleged the merger would substantially lessen competition: two theatrical distribution categories — wide-release films and anticipated top-grossing films — and the licensing of basic-cable channels.
Hollywood observers have predicted that combining Paramount with Warner Bros. could lead to fewer opportunities for actors, writers and other creative workers, and is likely to result in significant layoffs. In March, Paramount COO Andy Gordontold analysts the company expected more than $6 billion in synergies within three years of the deal closing.
But Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison — whose father, Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, is financially backstopping the acquisition — has pledged that the combined company would release at least 30 films a year and increase its television output. “People can speculate all they want — but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment,” he said at the CinemaCon trade convention in April. “And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories