California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Sept. 21 that a coalition of 12 attorneys general had reached a settlement with Paramount Skydance resolving the states’ lawsuit challenging its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the California DOJ press release, BBC, NBC News (opens in new tab), and Variety (opens in new tab).
The settlement, pending court approval, includes a five-year film-release commitment—30 films a year including 20 wide releases in years one and two, then 32 films including 21 wide releases in years three through five—plus at least four independent films each year, the DOJ said. Failure to meet output triggers Miramax-related divestiture and $30 million per missed film toward union health/retirement funds and NAAG antitrust enforcement.
Paramount also agreed to spend at least an additional $1.5 billion over five years above 2025 U.S. film-production levels, create a $25 million independent-film purchase fund ($5 million a year), and commit $47.5 million over five years to a workforce fund for training workers displaced by the merger, the DOJ said. For five years, Paramount and Warner Bros. basic-cable channel negotiations must remain independent. A News Editorial Independence Board is to help maintain editorial independence at CNN and CBS.
Bonta said the settlement “is not a vote of support for this merger” but resolves the states’ antitrust concerns as alleged. Paramount chair and CEO David Ellison welcomed clearance; BBC quoted him saying state AG and WGA concerns had been addressed. The Writers Guild settled separately, saying it still believes the merger will harm writers but could not fight alone; terms include $17.5 million to the WGA health fund and a five-year ban on writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast, BBC and NBC reported.
BBC and NBC place the merger value at about $110 billion. Variety (opens in new tab) reported studio insiders were surprised by the sudden settlement and expect multiple layoff rounds after a close Ellison said could come within about two weeks; those layoff expectations are attributed industry sourcing, not company confirmation of headcount cuts. An independent monitor will oversee compliance, the DOJ said.