Paramount Skydance merger with Warner Bros. Discovery won't harm competition, consumers, DOJ says

An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has determined that the mammoth Hollywood media merger is not likely to harm competition in the industry or be harmful for consumers. The agency said Friday that it closed its probe into the deal, with regulators at its antitrust division concluding that the impact of the merger "will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers." David Ellison's Paramount Skydance reached a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in late February. Paramount's victory came after months of negotiations and a rival bid by Netflix that ultimately fell short. Paramount was bought by Skydance last year. The companies contend that merging will be good for growth in the industry and give consumers access to more content, particularly if the HBO Max and Paramount+ libraries are combined. But critics have decried what further consolidation could mean in an industry already controlled by just a few major players. Among the potential market impacts from the merger, regulators weighed whether the deal would hurt competition in video streaming. They concluded that the merger would likely increase competition by giving customers a more "robust competitive alternative" to larger video streaming alternatives. The agency also determined that YouTube, TikTok and other social media portals that also offer video streaming content "do not appear to be competitive substitutes here under well-established antitrust legal precedents, although they compete broadly for consumer attention." Regulators also concluded that the merger is not likely to harm competition for so-called linear television, citing a strong competition for live programming. On the question of competition in Hollywood, regulators found that the combination of two major film studio operators is not likely to harm competition in studio development, production or distribution of films for theatrical release. "Instead, evidence shows extensive competition within the industry, which has generated greater output and diversity of film offerings, and is likely to continue unabated," regulators concluded. Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals have voiced "unequivocal opposition" to the Paramount deal, arguing that further consolidation will lead to job losses and fewer choices for filmmakers and moviegoers. Many lawmakers have similarly sounded the alarm. Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, has pledged to keep Paramount and Warner Bros. as standalone movie studio operations, and vowed to release a combined 30 movies a year in theaters. Paramount has acknowledged the merger will also lead to significant cuts due to duplication. While the Trump administration's Justice Department has now confirmed it won't be challenging Paramount's $81 billion purchase of Warner, the mega merger is still being reviewed by other regulators both in the U.S. and abroad. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been particularly vocal about the transaction, and he said his state is investigating it. Beyond the U.S., European regulators are also looking into the deal. The European Commission has listed July 7 as a tentative deadline for its review. And the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority is aiming to make an initial decision about its probe by early August. Paramount and Warner previously said that they hoped to close their deal sometime in the third quarter of this year. And that clock is ticking. Paramount pledged to give shareholders some compensation if the acquisition doesn't close by Sept. 30 — in the form of a 25-cent per share "ticking fee" for every quarter past that date. It has also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion.