Judge Martínez-Olguín questioned Paramount and 12 state attorneys general over their antitrust settlement for the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger Thursday, but did not rule on approval. She ordered them to reply to Sen. Cory Booker’s letter by noon PT Monday, Sept. 28.
Booker asked the court to halt the merger and called for an independent public-interest review before approval, arguing the consent decree was submitted without a competitive-impact statement, public-comment period or formal opportunity for theaters, distributors, workers and consumers to be heard. Judge Martínez-Olguín said the court was no rubber stamp and wanted to establish the agreement was reached at arm’s length rather than through collusion; California’s Paula Blizzard and Paramount’s lawyer said it was.
Other terms ban sales of Paramount and Warner Bros. studio lots in California for at least five years, require at least $300 million in extra annual U.S. film spending ($1.5 billion over five years), and set release minimums of 30 movies in the first two years and 32 in years three to five, with a 45-day wide-release window. Missing output targets would require divestment of the merged company’s Miramax stake; violations of anticompetitive terms would require divestment of cable networks including BET, VH1 and Comedy Central. A news-editorial-independence board would set guiding principles for CNN and CBS News.
