Paramount, 12 States/WGA Settle Warner Bros Deal Lawsuit: Details

Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, Paramount+, TV | Tagged: paramount, warner bros discovery

Paramount, 12 States/WGA Settle Warner Bros Deal Lawsuit: Details

Highlights from the Paramount-Warner Bros antitrust lawsuit settlement include an editorial board for CNN and CBS News. But was it enough?

Published Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:32:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• Paramount Skydance settled with 12 states and the WGA, clearing the way for its Warner Bros. Discovery takeover.
• The Paramount-Warner Bros settlement requires 30 films a year and at least $300 million more in U.S. production.
• Paramount and Warner basic cable channels must be negotiated separately for five years under the antitrust deal.
• CNN and CBS News must add an editorial independence board as critics warn the Paramount merger still harms media.

Following a weekend filled with rumors and speculation, the news hit on Monday morning that California Attorney General Rob Bonta (speaking for Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a settlement with David Ellison's Paramount Skydance in their respective antitrust lawsuits that would allow the $110 billion takeover of David Zaslav's Warner Bros. Discovery to move forward. While the specific details are being communicated as we speak, here's a rundown of some of the big headlines coming out of the settlement (with the entire consent decree to settle the lawsuit available here):

Increase Film Commitment: Along with keeping to the promise of 30 films per year, the merged company is required to spend at least $300 million more annually on film production within the United States than was spent in 2025, and maintain pricing with movie theaters.

Basic Cable Stays Separate – For Now: On the basic cable front, the settlement would require Paramount to negotiate the distribution of Paramount- and Warner Bros. Discovery-owned basic cable channels separately for five years.

Paramount Is Staying in California: The settlement locks down the current Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery lots to where they are (translation: no one's heading to Texas).

CNN & CBS News Are Getting an Editorial Board: The merged company is required to establish a "News Editorial Independence Board" that will craft "guiding editorial and journalism principles for the combined entity's news channels." This would involve an internal "compliance monitor" and an independent "monitoring trustee" to ensure the merged company complies with the terms. In addition, a "State Committee" of five states will also oversee enforcement and monitor compliance.

"We are grateful to Attorney General Bonta and his fellow AGs, as well as the WGA, for engaging in good faith to find a path forward to a resolution that serves all parties, and to Governor Newsom for his support throughout this process. Our shared aim was an outcome that best serves consumers, workers and – most importantly – the creative community so vital to the art of visual storytelling. We're confident this agreement does exactly that, memorializing a series of commitments that include 30+ films annually and expanded U.S. film production to help revitalize our industry here at home," Ellison shared in a statement.

The Block the Merger Coalition (which includes a number of organizations, including Free Press, the American Economic Liberties Project, Democracy Defenders Fund, and the Future Film Coalition) issued the following statement on the announced settlement: "We vehemently oppose the agreement to allow David Ellison to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a bad deal for the future of film, entertainment, independent journalism, and a strong democracy in this country. We are disappointed and angry that the interests of average Americans have been trampled to benefit oligarch billionaires."

The statement continued, "The Ellisons and other forces arrayed against us, but that didn't stop us and so many others from standing up. We are proud of what we accomplished, and together, our coalition will keep fighting. From the thousands of leaders in the film and entertainment industry and elected officials, to the hundreds of thousands who joined them to make their voices heard, even in the face of potential retaliation, this was a grassroots movement that proved Americans are not going to take this corruption anymore. That energy is not going away."

"This isn't the last we will hear of the Ellisons or the fallout of this merger – and it's not the last you will hear from us," the coalition pledged before wrapping up the statement. "Block the Merger was never just about one merger, but about the harms of media consolidation and promoting a diversity of voices. We will continue fighting for accountability and policy reforms to break up and prevent these large conglomerates. This one battle may be over in our efforts to defend democracy, but we won't stop fighting until we win the war."

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