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\n\tSome of the most powerful state attorneys general in the nation just got eclipsed by five regular citizens in a move to put the brakes on Paramount\u2018s merger with Warner Bros Discovery.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe April 23, 2026, stockholder vote materially changed the posture of the proposed acquisition,\u201d says a wide-ranging antitrust filed Thursday in California federal court by five pay-TV and streaming services subscribers. \u201cBefore that vote, the transaction remained contingent on Warner Bros. Discovery stockholder approval. After that vote, a major closing condition had been satisfied, and the threatened injury to Plaintiffs became substantially more imminent because the remaining barriers to consummation were principally regulatory and closing-condition barriers rather than stockholder approval.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn a graph-filled and David Ellison name-checking 46-page complaint suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court (read it here), Pamela Faust, Len Marazzo, Lisa McCarthy, Deborah Rubinsohn and Gary Talewsky aim to do what California\u2019s Rob Bonta, New York\u2019s Letitia James and other AGs and most of the Democratic Party have only been talking about up to now: to stop the $111 billion multi-studio merger that has been greenlighted thus far by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd that puts CNN, a longtime thorn in MAGA\u2019s paw, right at the center of this.<\/p>\n
\n\tRELATED: California AG Slams Feds Over Paramount-WBD Deal; Citing Antitrust Concerns, Rob Bonta Says\u00a0Real \u201cPossibility Of Multiple States Working Together\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBy placing CNN and other news assets under Paramount\u2019s control as part of a broader consolidation strategy,\u201d the complaint states, \u201cParamount\u2019s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would reduce the number of independent owners capable of sustaining national television news operations at scale and weaken competitive constraints that protect editorial rivalry, investigative resources, and viewpoint diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn that vein, the five plaintiffs \u2014 who also are looking to unravel last year\u2019s Paramount acquisition of Skydance \u2014 are going right to the math.<\/p>\n \n\tRELATED: Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery Deal: Experts Say Trump Factor Will Have Bearing On EU Antitrust Process<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf Paramount acquires Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Warner Bros. would combine into a single firm with approximately 23.6% market share, making the combined Paramount\/Warner Bros. entity the largest studio shown in the chart,\u201d the complaint reads. \u201cThe post-merger top four studios would be Paramount\/Warner Bros. at approximately 23.6%, Disney at approximately 21.4%, Universal at approximately 20.2%, and Sony\/Columbia at approximately 11.1%, for a combined top-four share of approximately 76.3%. The proposed transaction, therefore, would not merely combine two studios; it would increase top-four concentration by approximately 10.2 percentage points and eliminate Paramount as an independent studio competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSurely lining up as the first of what could be many legal efforts to block the mega-deal, Thursday\u2019s suit was quickly rejected out of hand by Paramount Skydance itself. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe are aware of the private action filed today in federal district court and are confident that it is without merit,\u201d a company spokesperson told Deadline. \u201cThe combination of Paramount and WBD will create a stronger competitor that is well positioned to serve as a champion for creative talent and consumer choice.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOf course, that\u2019s not how Faust, Marazzo, McCarthy, Rubinsohn and Talewsky interpret it. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPlaintiffs are threatened with imminent loss or injury if the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount is consummated,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cThese injuries include increased prices, diminished consumer choice, reduced output and quality of entertainment and news programming, less consumer choice, and degradation of non-price dimensions of competition in national news, including credibility, editorial independence, investigative vigor, output, and viewpoint diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDespite a flurry of protests, Warner Bros Discovery shareholders voted last week to approve the merger \u2014 a key hurdle in advancing the deal.<\/p>\n \n\tMORE TO COME<\/p>\n<\/div>\n