States sue to block Paramount-Warner Brothers Discovery merger

Technology States sue to block Paramount-Warner Brothers Discovery merger Comments: by Dominick Mastrangelo - 07/13/26 1:46 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Dominick Mastrangelo - 07/13/26 1:46 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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A dozen state attorneys general on Monday filed a joint lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s pending takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery, the sprawling media company that owns one of the world’s largest movie and television studios and cable news channel CNN.

The deal would harm competition and have a negative impact on the business of media and entertainment, the attorneys general argued, “creating a massive company with unprecedented power and influence over news and entertainment across the globe.”

The agreement, announced in February and worth more than $100 billion, would hand control of Warner Brothers Discovery to the growing media empire led by David Ellison, the son of Trump ally and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is one of the richest people in the world.

The Paramount-Warner Brothers Discovery deal violates antitrust law, the states argued in their suit, saying Paramount growing into one of the largest media companies on Earth would enhance its power to set terms with the theaters and cable channel distributors and ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers.

“For over a century, Paramount and Warner Bros. have competed to create movies and television that bring people together, inspire and sustain generations of artists, and help us understand the world,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the officials who filed the joint suit. “Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. threatens to raise costs for consumers and put jobs and businesses nationwide at risk.”

James was joined by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 10 others in filing the suit on Monday in the U.S. District court in Northern California.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery was announced after the Ellisons won a hotly contested bidding war with Netflix last year, as the company looks to take streamers head-on while more consumers ditch cable and movie theaters for at-home direct-to-consumer media platforms.

The deal could also have major implications for the news business.

President Trump has voiced support for the Ellisons business interests and said he wishes to see CNN, a cable news channel he frequently attacks, operate under new ownership.

A number of top actors, directors and entertainment industry professionals have also raised concern about the Paramount-Warner Brothers deal, which they have similarly said would harm their business and undermine competition.

“Film and television are not commodities; they are a principal means by which Americans encounter stories, ideas, and perspectives beyond their own experience,” the attorneys general wrote in their suit. “The competitive health of markets where professionally created media is produced, distributed, and exhibited determines not only price, quality, and output, but the breadth of voices and viewpoints that reach the public.”