Mergers

12 States Sue, Call Paramount–Warner Bros. Merger an Antitrust Violation

If successful, it could do more harm than good to the entertainment industry.

Joe Lancaster | 7.15.2026 12:45 PM

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(Illustration: Warner Bros/Paramount/Midjourney)

It seems unlikely that a merger of Hollywood studios would be a matter for U.S. states to get involved in. But this week, a dozen states did just that, suing to stop a studio merger in court as anticompetitive and a violation of antitrust law.

"Twelve state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that the combined Hollywood giant would damage economic competition in the entertainment and media industries," NBC's Daniel Arkin wrote this week.

Skydance founder David Ellison purchased Paramount Pictures last year, in a deal President Donald Trump opposed until Paramount settled his meritless lawsuit against the company. Then, when Netflix offered to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the newly merged Paramount Skydance submitted a more generous bid, which the streamer declined to match.

Progressives have opposed the Paramount–WBD deal. Over 5,000 people in the entertainment industry signed an open letter expressing concern. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) called the proposed merger "an antitrust disaster," with California Attorney General Rob Bonta saying it "must receive a full and robust review."

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced last month that it would allow the deal to go through, as the merger "is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers."

But states can also sue to stop mergers. "The merger of Warner Bros and........

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