$111 billion is the stated value of the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery combination that a 12-state coalition moved to block in court today. The Trump administration approved the deal last month. California is leading the suit against both companies.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the merger of "these two entertainment behemoths" would raise prices, shrink the volume of film and television content, and reduce quality across the market. Movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and viewers nationwide would absorb those costs, Bonta said.
The transaction would combine two of Hollywood's largest studios and merge their streaming services, Paramount+ and HBO Max. The deal displaced a competing transaction: Netflix had previously agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming and movie studio assets, but Paramount's hostile takeover bid prevailed with backing from the Trump administration. Twelve state attorneys general are now asking a federal court to reach a different antitrust conclusion than the one regulators reached last month.