WASHINGTON—Opponents of the Paramount Warner Bros. Discovery merger who are working together as The Block the Merger Coalition have launched a public petition that thanks the 12 state attorneys general who sued to block the dangerous Warner Bros. merger while calling on them to vigorously pursue their antitrust lawsuit against the deal. That includes rejecting empty concessions from Paramount before the March 2027 trial, the group said.
The organizers behind noparamountconcessions.com argue that any unenforceable concessions the Ellisons propose in a backroom are a losing proposition. They ask “state AGs to uphold the antitrust laws so workers in the entertainment industry, consumers and the general public get their day in court.”
The coalition includes Free Press, the Archival Producers Alliance, the American Economic Liberties Project, the Committee for the First Amendment, Common Cause, Democracy Defenders Action, the International Documentary Association, the Media and Democracy Project and Public Citizen.
The push comes the day after Iowa and Montana filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to throw out the antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 AGs.
“Plaintiffs, the State of Iowa and State of Montana, respectfully move this Court for leave to file the attached Bill of Complaint to stop a politicized enforcement action that seeks to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger,” the filing by the two Republican AGs said.
It also follows reports that Paramount has been attempting to negotiate an settlement in the lawsuit by offering various concessions.
“Enough with the Ellisons’ astroturf efforts to sabotage the attorneys general's case against this dangerous mega-merger,” said Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron. “Media deals of this scale can’t be salvaged with unenforceable pledges and empty promises. The serious antitrust concerns in this case can’t be resolved via backroom negotiations and corporate PR stunts, but must be litigated in a court of law. Any talk of concessions is just wishful thinking from desperate billionaire owners who know that their plan to seize control of our media endangers our democracy.”
“Paramount's request that state attorneys general post a $1.9 billion bond, after Paramount itself agreed to delay this deal, is outrageous and shows exactly why this merger deserves the scrutiny of a full trial,” added Andrea Sawka Fiegl, senior policy director of media and technology at Common Cause. “This merger would give one billionaire family outsized control over the news, entertainment and information Americans depend on while raising costs for consumers. Government decisions about media mergers must protect the public, not corporate interests. The attorneys general should hold firm and let a judge decide this case on the merits.”
More information is available here.
