LOS ANGELES – In a pivotal development for the global media and entertainment landscape, the U.S. Department of Justice has granted antitrust approval to Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, multiple U.S. media outlets reported Friday.
According to reporting from Politico and Bloomberg, federal antitrust regulators signed off on the transformative combination without requiring mandatory asset divestitures or other policy concessions, after concluding the merger would not substantially undermine market competition across the media and streaming sectors. The Department of Justice had not issued an immediate formal response to requests for comment as of Friday, but the outlets confirmed a public announcement from the agency was expected later the same day.
If finalized, the deal will bring together Paramount’s global media portfolio with Warner Bros. Discovery’s lineup of flagship properties, including the 24-hour news network CNN, award-winning film studio Warner Bros. Pictures, and the major streaming platform HBO Max.
Politico’s reporting notes that Paramount CEO David Ellison held at least two closed-door meetings with senior antitrust officials to advocate for the merger, framing the combination as a strategic move to boost competitive pressure against far larger rivals in the streaming and big tech spaces. Ellison’s argument centered on the idea that a merged entity would be better positioned to challenge the market dominance of leading global streaming platforms.
Even with federal regulatory approval secured, the proposed merger still faces significant outstanding legal and regulatory headwinds on multiple fronts. Bloomberg reports that a coalition of roughly 10 U.S. states, led by California, is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal as early as this month. This week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office confirmed that the acquisition “remains an active investigation” for state regulators, leaving the path to finalization uncertain.
Beyond U.S. domestic scrutiny, the European Commission has also launched its own independent review of the merger to assess compliance with European Union antitrust rules, adding another layer of regulatory uncertainty to the transaction.
The race to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and its decades-spanning, highly valuable content back catalog began last year, when a bidding war broke out between Paramount Skydance and global streaming giant Netflix. Industry observers note that many Hollywood insiders initially leaned toward a Netflix takeover, viewing it as the less disruptive of the two options. However, Paramount’s willingness to repeatedly raise its offer price eventually pushed Netflix to withdraw from the bidding process.
The takeover has been largely financed by David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, co-founder of tech giant Oracle and a prominent political ally of former President Donald Trump. One of the wealthiest people in the world, Larry Ellison provided a substantial financial guarantee that ultimately convinced the Warner Bros. Discovery board of directors to accept Paramount’s offer over competing bids.
Despite the progress toward closing, the merger has drawn fierce pushback from within the entertainment industry. Hundreds of working actors and directors have signed an open letter opposing the combination, arguing that the merger will reduce the number of independent content buyers, squeeze production budgets, and further strain an already challenging operating environment for creators in the sector.