“Today, billionaires have yet again bribed, censored, and bullied their way to the top,” says Alvaro Bedoya, a senior advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project, as 12 state attorneys general reach a settlement with Paramount over an antitrust lawsuit brought to life in the wake of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s proposed $111 billion merger. Whilst it seemed like California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the 12-state coalition against Paramount, would demand some significant divestitures, or “robust structural remedies” from Paramount, it seems none of this has come to pass. We don’t know the full details yet, but here’s what is being reported by Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, and Variety.
Variety notes of the settlement between the States and Paramount: “The two sides spent the weekend in tense discussions over Paramount’s commitments to remain in California and over guarantees for its production levels. The discussions also focused on editorial oversight of CBS News and CNN, a key concern for East Coast attorneys general. Sources said the settlement does not require Paramount to make any major divestitures.” In recent days, Paramount has been threatening to move its business out of California and look for alternate states to do its business. It seems this had some impact on the proceedings.
It’s also likely what has prompted Bedoya to note of the State AGs’ decision to find a settlement with Paramount: “People want champions who are not afraid of rich bullies. Newsom, Becerra and Bonta did not meet that mark. The people who work in the film and TV industry and the small businesses who support it will suffer as a result. And so will everyone who values dissent in our democracy.”
Paramount, meanwhile, positions this merger as pro-competitive. The company shares that it seeks to take on other streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. Over time, it seems to have influenced many of its naysayers to adopt this perspective as well. Leading up to this settlement between Paramount and the states, AMC, Cinemark, and Regal all shifted their stances in favor of a settlement. And that meant that Cinema United, the trade group representing theaters overall, also shifted to a pro-settlement perspective, following the views of its biggest members. This occurred despite the fact that Cinema United had initially strongly opposed the merger.
One holdout remains the Writers Guild of America. The WGA also sued to block the merger in July. The WGA case is set to be heard in March and was meant to be heard alongside the states’ case before this settlement.
Nerdist Take: The States Settlement with Paramount Doesn’t Seem Great, But Are There Even Any Good Outcomes?
However, with the states and Paramount reaching a settlement, it appears a major obstacle has been removed from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s $111 billion merger. Ultimately, as far as consumers are concerned, we’re not sure there were ever any good options on the table. And we’ll have to wait and see what concessions were actually made in this settlement before judgment. But, as ever with big business in our day and age, it feels like companies and bottom lines are much more important than a fair system that rewards the majority of people. The States seemed to be battling on behalf of their citizens for a time—but it doesn’t feel clear that they pushed as far as they could or should have.
The post Paramount and State AGs Settle Case, Paving Way for Warner Bros Merger appeared first on Nerdist.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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