Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal clears its biggest state challenge

David Ellison’s Paramount has settled with 12 state attorneys general that had sued to stop its $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing the biggest remaining legal barrier to closing. The states did not endorse the merger; they dropped their case for enforceable promises including at least 30 theatrical releases a year, $1.5 billion in extra U.S. production spending over five years, worker protections and editorial-independence safeguards for CBS News and CNN. Crucially for Paramount, it was not required to sell major assets. That brings two historic studios, major TV networks, and the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services closer to one owner—while leaving critics’ core concern intact: whether Hollywood’s greater scale will mean less competition and fewer creative jobs.