LIVE 12:30 PT: Richard Rushfield & Matt Stoller on Paramount Settlement — WTF
- On Monday, the Writers Guild of America settled its antitrust lawsuit against Paramount Skydance, allowing the $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to proceed following a separate agreement with 12 state attorneys general.
- After 12 state attorneys general settled their litigation, the WGA faced pursuing a costly antitrust case alone without government enforcement backing, prompting the guild to resolve its independent lawsuit rather than continue uncertain litigation.
- Paramount agreed to pay $17.5 million to the WGA health fund and cover legal fees while prohibiting writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast for 5 years. The settlement also mandates at least $300 million more in annual U.S. film production.
- The agreement mandates a "News Editorial Independence Board" to guide editorial principles at CNN and CBS News, while requiring Paramount to negotiate basic cable channel distribution separately for five years and establishing internal "compliance monitor" oversight.
- Opponents including the American Economic Liberties Project and Free Press vowed continued opposition, stating "This isn't the last you will hear from us" and pledging to pursue policy reforms against media consolidation and large conglomerates.
20 Articles
20 Articles
A major obstacle to Paramount's Warner Bros. merger has just been removed
The $81 billion US dollar blockbuster deal will bring together two of Hollywood's oldest studios, key TV networks like CBS and CNN and streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+, as well as decades of libraries with titles ranging from Harry Potter to Top Gun.
WGA Settles Antitrust Lawsuit With Paramount, David Ellison Says Merger Could Close In "Two Weeks"
Today, the path toward David Ellison‘s hostile acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (pushing Netflix out of the way of their own previous deal) is looking a lot clearer, as the company has now closed a settlement with California and 11 other states. This follows Ellison’s threat to move the legacy studio out of the state to Texas, Tennessee, or Georgia, with an internal report claiming local job losses in L.A./Cali could be as high as nearly 60…
WGA Gets No Writer Layoffs At CBS News, $17.5M For Health Fund As Guild Confirms Settlement Of Lawsuit Against Paramount-WBD Merger
The WGA has confirmed that its own lawsuit over the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger also has been settled, following the same move by the state attorneys general announced Monday morning by California AG Rob Bonta. In a statement, the guild acknowledged that it could not go it alone. “We continue to believe the merger will […]
BT
Paramount has reached an agreement with states on a settlement that, among other things, guarantees increased film production in the United States.
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