Judge clears way for Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger

A California judge has approved Paramount Skydance’s settlement with California and other states, clearing the final legal hurdle for the company’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The deal will combine several major media properties under one company, including CBS News and CNN, streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max, and the Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. film studios.

The merger had already received approval from the U.S. Justice Department, European Commission and regulators in dozens of other countries. A lawsuit led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta had prevented the transaction from moving forward.

Bonta and attorneys general from other states raised concerns that the combination could reduce competition and threaten CNN’s editorial independence.

Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, reached a settlement with the states Sept. 21, 2026. Under the agreement, the combined company will be required to release at least 30 films annually and establish an editorial board overseeing CNN and CBS News.

Wednesday’s court approval removes the remaining obstacle to completing the transaction.

Critics of the settlement argue that the concessions extracted from Paramount Skydance do not go far enough to address the competition, employment and journalistic independence concerns that prompted the states’ lawsuit.

Among the biggest objections is that the agreement relies largely on behavioral restrictions rather than forcing Paramount to sell assets or otherwise reduce the size of the combined company.

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Former Federal Trade Commission adviser Alvaro Bedoya and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, were among those criticizing the agreement, while media analyst Rich Greenfield characterized the absence of required divestitures as particularly favorable to Paramount. Even some attorneys general involved in the case acknowledged they did not obtain all the protections they had sought.

Critics also question how much the settlement’s production requirements change Paramount’s existing plans. The company must release at least 30 films annually during the first two years and 32 annually during the following three years, but critics note that Paramount had already indicated plans for substantial theatrical production.

That has led some observers to question whether the requirement represents a significant concession rather than a legally enforceable version of plans the company already intended to pursue.

The proposed News Editorial Independence Board for CNN and CBS News has drawn particular skepticism.

Paramount’s board of directors will appoint the five journalists who serve on the panel, prompting critics to question whether a body selected by company leadership can effectively police interference by that same leadership.

Some have noted the panel structure appeared to lack independence, while press freedom advocates and some journalists have questioned whether it would have sufficient authority to prevent ownership from influencing editorial decisions. 

Bonta has acknowledged some of those limitations.

He said the agreement does not guarantee objective coverage in every instance at CNN or CBS News and emphasized that the settlement should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the merger.

One of the attorneys general reportedly wanted a much stronger structural remedy. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong had pushed for CNN and CBS to be spun off to protect journalistic independence, but that provision did not make it into the settlement.

There is also no requirement for Paramount to maintain or increase investment in CBS-owned local television newsrooms, preserve existing local newscasts or maintain a minimum number of local-news hours.

Bonta has defended the agreement as a compromise that provides enforceable protections the states might not have obtained by taking the antitrust case to trial.

The settlement does include a separate five-year requirement involving Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery cable networks: The combined company must negotiate carriage agreements for the legacy Paramount and Warner channels separately.

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Bonta described that provision as intended to mimic the competition that existed when they were separate companies.