U.K. clears Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal after media safeguards

British regulators cleared Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday after the company agreed to legally binding time-limited protections covering editorial independence, children’s programming and investment in U.K. media.

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The approval involved separate decisions by the Competition and Markets Authority and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The CMA found that the combination would not substantially reduce competition in the United Kingdom and declined to conduct a more extensive investigation.

“We have cleared this deal as it does not raise competition concerns in the U.K.,” the regulator said. It concluded that Paramount would continue to face sufficient competition in theatrical film distribution, streaming and other markets after acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy separately decided not to intervene on public-interest grounds after Paramount agreed to safeguards intended to preserve media diversity. Nandy had notified the companies in June that she was considering a review involving news plurality, editorial independence and children’s content.

Paramount committed to maintaining separate editorial identities for the combined company’s television channels and streaming services. Channel 5 News will remain editorially independent from CBS News and CNN International, while CNN International will continue to be available in the United Kingdom.

The company also agreed to keep Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network editorially distinct and continue commissioning and acquiring original British children’s programming. Channel 5 will retain its public-service broadcasting role and a U.K.-focused commissioning strategy.

Most of the commitments will expire five years after the transaction closes, however. 

Protections tied to Channel 5 will continue through Dec. 31, 2034, when its current public-service broadcasting license expires. Paramount must provide the culture department with annual reports documenting its compliance.

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The U.K. decisions follow the European Commission’s conditional approval of the acquisition July 22, 2026.

Paramount agreed to withdraw from United International Pictures, its European theatrical distribution venture with Universal Pictures, within 13 months of closing the deal. It also agreed not to enter another European film distribution arrangement with Universal for 10 years.

Paramount said regulators representing 66 jurisdictions have cleared the transaction or declined to challenge it. The company argued that the U.K. and European findings undermine the market definitions used by 12 U.S. state attorneys general in their lawsuit seeking to block the acquisition.

The British approval does not resolve the deal’s remaining legal obstacles in the United States. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and attorneys general from 11 other states sued in July, alleging the combination would reduce competition across the film and television industries. The Writers Guild of America filed a separate challenge focused on competition for writers’ services.

A federal judge has scheduled a 12-day trial beginning March 2, 2027.

Paramount has agreed not to close the transaction while the lawsuits remain pending, triggering payments to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders if the deal is unfinished after Sept. 30. The payments amount to about $650 million per quarter, or roughly $7 million per day.