A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has issued a temporary restraining order to pause the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. The decision marks an early legal victory for a coalition of state prosecutors seeking to block the transaction on antitrust grounds. The order keeps the merger on hold while the court considers a motion for a preliminary injunction, which would freeze the combination for the duration of the litigation.
The legal action was launched by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 11 other state attorneys general, who contend that combining these two major entities would severely harm market competition. State prosecutors argue that allowing one corporate entity to control a massive portion of the film and television landscapes would lead to higher movie ticket prices and steeper cable bills for everyday consumers. Furthermore, the lawsuit asserts that the consolidation would result in fewer original stories released to the public while simultaneously reducing employment opportunities and bargaining power for industry workers and local businesses.
If completed, the deal would merge two of Hollywood’s five major film studios and two of the country’s top five basic cable networks. This would place more than 50 popular news, sports, and entertainment channels, as well as three leading streaming platforms, under Paramount’s single control.
The multistate coalition bringing the lawsuit includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington alongside New York. New York’s legal team is led by Assistant Attorneys General Pratik Agarwal, Morgan Feder, and Will Margrabe, together with Fellow Jaya Mantovani from the Antitrust Bureau, under the direction of Bureau Chief Elinor Hoffmann, Deputy Bureau Chief Amy McFarlane, Chief Economist Chitra Marti, Chief Deputy Attorney General Christopher D’Angelo, and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
“This lawsuit is about a simple fact: when one company controls a massive share of our film and television industries, workers, artists, businesses, and consumers suffer.”
— Letitia James, New York Attorney General