Attorney General James Sues to Block Paramount’s Merger with Warner Bros.

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 11 other attorneys general today sued Paramount Skydance Corp. (Paramount) and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Warner Bros.), two of the nation’s largest media companies, to block a proposed $110 billion merger that would illegally undermine competition throughout the entertainment industry. Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film studios and two of the five major basic cable companies, creating a massive conglomerate in markets for basic cable and theatrical film releases.

Attorney General James and the coalition argue that this merger would have devastating effects for consumers, workers, and the entertainment industry. After acquiring Warner Bros., Paramount would have fewer incentives to invest in television and film production, leading to fewer new releases and a less diverse range of entertainment and news perspectives for consumers. With less competition, Paramount would be able to dictate terms to theater owners and television providers, driving up prices for movie tickets and cable packages. Thousands of workers in the entertainment industry would also be at risk, with fewer big-budget projects and studios competing to hire them. Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court order declaring the merger illegal and preventing the two companies from combining.

“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 Attorney General James. “This merger would destroy that competition, creating a massive company with unprecedented power and influence over news and entertainment across the globe. Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. threatens to raise costs for consumers and put jobs and businesses nationwide at risk. I thank my fellow attorneys general for joining this effort to uphold the law and block this merger.”

Paramount and Warner Bros. have competed in the television and film industry for over a century. Their long-running competition has yielded some of the nation’s most popular and critically acclaimed films and franchises, including Titanic, Forrest Gump, The Godfather, and Mission Impossible produced by Paramount, and the Batman, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings films produced by Warner Bros. The two companies also own some of the most watched television channels and programs in the country, including three production studios responsible for Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, The Late Show, and NCIS.

On February 27, 2026, Paramount agreed to acquire Warner Bros. in a transaction valued at approximately $110 billion. As Attorney General James and the coalition allege in their lawsuit, this would create a media company of enormous scale that would illegally reduce competition across the entertainment industry. If the merger proceeds, Paramount would be one of four studios that would control 85 percent of all theatrical film releases. Two companies – Paramount and Disney – would control more than half of all basic cable programming. Paramount would own lucrative sports programming, including broadcasting rights for the NFL on CBS, March Madness, and Major League Baseball, two major news stations, CNN and CBS, and more than 20 top-rated cable stations such as MTV, HGTV, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon. The merger would also combine three of the top subscription streaming services, Paramount+, Discovery+, and HBO Max.

The lawsuit alleges that the merger would violate antitrust law by reducing competition in the markets for films released widely to more than 600 theaters, anticipated top-grossing films, and basic cable television. Paramount’s size would enhance its power to set terms with the theaters and cable channel distributors it negotiates with, leading to higher prices for consumers. With fewer competitors, Paramount would be able to negotiate box office splits, ticket prices, discounts, and other terms that favor the studio at the expense of theaters. As a result, consumers would likely see a reduction in the number of blockbuster movies at the theater and face higher costs when going to the movies, and theaters would have fewer resources to invest in improving experiences for their customers.

Paramount would be in a similarly unfair and powerful position with distributors of cable channels. With control over more than 50 basic cable channels, Paramount would have unprecedented leverage to charge distributors higher fees to carry its channels and threaten a blackout if distributors refuse to comply. These fee increases would likely be passed on to consumers in the form of higher cable bills. Paramount’s ownership of both CBS and CNN would also allow the company to control content at two major television news outlets at a time when news consumption is increasingly concentrated in national media.

By reducing competition, Paramount would have less of an incentive to invest heavily in new content, leading to fewer new films and television shows for consumers. Paramount executives have made this clear by telling investors that “content spending reductions” are part of the “synergies” the merger will create. Less spending on new content will mean fewer unique stories for consumers, fewer jobs for independent writers, producers, and directors, and fewer opportunities for the many businesses involved in film and television production.

Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court order declaring the merger in violation of the Clayton Act and preventing Paramount from finalizing its acquisition of Warner Bros.

Joining Attorney General James in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. 

For New York, this matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Pratik Agarwal, Morgan Feder, and Will Margrabe and Attorney General Fellow Jaya Mantovani, all of the Antitrust Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Elinor Hoffmann and Deputy Bureau Chief Amy McFarlane, and with the assistance of Chief Economist Chitra Marti. The Antitrust Bureau is part of the Division for Economic Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Christopher D’Angelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.