California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 of his colleagues in the United States jointly filed a lawsuit demanding to block the purchase of the Warner Bros. holding. Discovery (WBD) by Paramount Skydance. Both companies became defendants in the complaint in federal court in California, and the plaintiffs in the documents called the deal $111 billion “illegal”, “leading to a decrease in competition and the creation of a monopoly.”
In June, Paramount Skydance received approval from the US Department of Justice to purchase all assets of the WBD holding, which includes the famous film studio, HBO Max streaming and a number of television channels, including CNN. The head of the company is the son of Trump associate, billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison.
The lawsuit was filed by 12 heads of prosecutors' offices in states where the Democratic Party is in power. In addition to California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington have attempted to challenge the merger.
Bonta in a statement called the plaintiffs a “coalition” and the defendants’ deal “illegal.” The prosecutor noted that the merger, if not prevented, would lead to the new “united titan” controlling a third of the film distribution and almost a third of the cable television broadcasting in the country.
“The illegal merger of these two entertainment giants will result in higher prices, lower quality and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, major cable operators and, ultimately, viewers on every couch and movie theater seat in the United States,” Bonta said.
As detailed in court documents, as a result of the merger, only four companies will remain in the United States, which will control more than 85% of the wide film distribution. According to calculations by Bonta and his colleagues, the combined market share of the new combined company and their main competitor Disney will be 59% in the cable channel market.
According to the coalition of prosecutors, the approval of the transaction by the Ministry of Justice in this regard contradicts the legislation on mergers and acquisitions.
Paramount has already denied the main allegation in the lawsuit, saying it “misrepresents well-established antitrust laws and is based on a misconception about competition in the modern entertainment industry,” ABC News reports.
The company said it is joining forces with Warner Bros. Discovery will allow it to “invest more aggressively in premium content, theatrical releases and talented creators at a time when these investments are more important than ever.” A Paramount representative told the channel that the merger will increase competition with the streaming service giants.
“The practical effect of this lawsuit is to shield dominant streaming platforms like Netflix and technology companies from much-needed competition while denying the significant benefits this deal will bring to consumers, creators, workers and the Hollywood economy as a whole,” Paramount said.
Let us remember that in December 2025, the WBD holding announced that it would be bought by the streaming platform Netflix, but Paramount, led by Ellison, continued to raise the price. Netflix later refused to increase the cost of acquiring the company, noting the “inexpediency” of such a deal, even despite the fact that investors were inclined to decide in favor of streaming.
The sale of WBD caused heated controversy both between claimants for the assets and in the socio-political environment in the United States. Trump openly stated that he expects a change in the owner of the holding, primarily because of the editorial policy of the CNN television channel, which is part of it. The President reproached the liberal media for dishonest coverage of their work.
In addition to CNN, WBD owns TLC, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel and others. The company was founded by the Warner brothers in 1923 and owns more than 12,000 films and 2,000 TV series. Among the most famous are “Harry Potter”, “Game of Thrones”, “Dune”, “The Matrix” and “The Lord of the Rings”. The series “The Sopranos,” “True Detective,” “Euphoria” and “The Last of Us,” which aired on HBO, are also part of the holding’s assets.
