U.K. Competition Watchdog Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Mega-Deal - The Hollywood Reporter
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has approved the $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, concluding that the deal will not significantly reduce competition. However, the merger remains on hold due to ongoing antitrust lawsuits from US state attorneys general.
Why it matters
This decision marks a major regulatory milestone for one of the largest media consolidations in recent history, though legal hurdles in the US persist.
Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved David Ellison-led Paramount Skydance's planned $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery .
The merger watchdog, considering the megadeal on theatrical film distribution grounds, concluded although “the parties compete closely, they do not appear closer to each other than to Universal, Disney, or Sony. While the merged entity would become the UK's largest distributor, it would continue to face competition from these three major studios and a range of other smaller studios.”
When it came to streaming services, the CMA cited “other competitors (Netflix, Apple, Disney and Amazon Prime), as well as non-SVOD services such as broadcast video on demand services (BBC iPlayer and ITVX), will continue to provide sufficient competition to the merged entity. Sufficient competitive constraints will also remain post-merger in the other areas in which the parties overlap, including in relation to the production and licensing of AV content.”
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in