TRENTON – Attorney General Jennifer Davenport today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a temporary restraining order halting the $110 billion merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Warner Bros.) and Paramount Skydance Corporation (Paramount).
The temporary restraining order halts the merger while the court considers a ruling on a preliminary injunction, which would block the merger for the duration of the litigation. Earlier this month, Attorney General Davenport joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the unlawful merger, which is expected to result in higher prices, lower content quality, and fewer movies and TV shows.
“Today’s order, which temporarily blocks this unlawful merger while our case continues, is a major win for consumers. It is the first step in what I hope will be a total victory for New Jerseyans, who can ill-afford another price hike caused by opportunistic billionaires,” said Attorney General Davenport. “Make no mistake: we will continue to stand up in court against corporate monopolists who drive up prices and harm New Jerseyans.”
The proposed merger would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of the five major basic cable companies, extinguishing competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. and inflicting substantial harm on movie theaters, basic cable distributors and, ultimately, consumers nationwide.
In the United States alone, if allowed to merge, the combined titan would control roughly one-third of theatrical motion pictures, and nearly one-third of basic cable programming.
For more than a century, Warner Bros. and Paramount have stood as independent sources of creativity and competition in the film and television industry. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District for the Northen District of California, alleges that the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which makes clear that mergers that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal.
The attorneys general allege that, if Warner Bros. and Paramount are allowed to merge, the merger would lessen competition in three markets: film distribution, anticipated blockbuster film distribution, and licensing cable TV channels.
Besides New Jersey, the lawsuit includes California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
