State Attorneys General File Antitrust Suit Against Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

Attorneys general from a dozen states have launched an antitrust challenge aimed at stopping Paramount's planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which the Department of Justice approved in June.

States allege reduced competition across film distribution and cable licensing. The case, brought in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, claims the transaction would breach the Clayton Act through diminished rivalry in wide-release theatrical film distribution, anticipated top-grossing theatrical film distribution and licensing of basic cable channels to distributors. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the group from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.

The officials contend that the merged company, representing two of the five largest film distributors, would command a 27 percent share of the wide-release theatrical distribution market and three-tenths of anticipated top-grossing theatrical film distribution. For basic cable channel licensing to satellite and cable providers, the pair would also hold a 27 percent market share, as Warner Bros. Discovery ranks second in the sector while Paramount sits in third.

Officials warn of higher prices, lower quality and reduced content diversity. "The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the US," Bonta said in a statement. His office added that consolidation would lead to fewer opportunities for important stories and fewer ways for audiences to encounter diverse perspectives.

The complaint does not explicitly focus on potential impacts to the streaming market.

Paramount calls the lawsuit flawed and argues for stronger streaming competition. Paramount described the suit as "a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law." The company stated the combination would create a stronger, well-capitalized, creative-first media company better positioned to compete with Netflix. It previously claimed consumers would benefit, with CEO David Ellison stating the combined company would release at least 30 films per year.

At the end of March, Warner Bros. Discovery had more than 140 million streaming subscribers globally while Paramount+ had 79.6 million. By comparison, Netflix had more than 325 million paid members by the end of last year, and Disney+ and Hulu together had 183 million subscribers at the end of June 2025.