\n\t\t\t\t\t12 US states argue the mega media merger violates antitrust laws.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Paramount\u2018s merger with Warner Bros Discovery has been paused by a US federal judge for at least 14 days.<\/p>\n
It follows a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other states, claiming that the proposed merger violates antitrust laws. The states claim that the merger creates undue concentration in the markets for wide release films, distribution of anticipated top-grossing theatrical films, and licensing of basic cable channels.<\/p>\n
The judge\u2019s order bars Paramount and Warner Bros \u201cfrom closing or consummating the Transaction or taking any steps, directly or indirectly, to integrate or consolidate their operations pursuant to the Transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The European Union is also yet to make its decision on the transaction.<\/p>\n
Paramount has pointed to the success of new entrants \u2014 A24, Amazon MGM and others \u2014 to argue that the theatrical market is more competitive and dynamic than the state case makes it appear. Paramount has also argued that the merger is pro-competitive because it will create a stronger rival in the streaming marketplace to dominant players like Netflix and Amazon.<\/p>\n
A Paramount spokesperson said, \u201cWe are confident the evidence will demonstrate that the State AGs\u2019 antitrust arguments are without merit as their alleged markets and claims of anticompetitive effects are without any basis in modern market realities. This merger is lawful, pro-competitive, and will benefit consumers, creators, workers, and the entertainment industry. We will continue to vigorously defend the transaction and will look forward to the hearings on the substance of the State AGs\u2019 action.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 14-day restraining order could be extended to as long as 28 days. A hearing on the preliminary injunction is set for August 3, though that date, too, could be delayed if the parties agree.<\/p>\n
Source: Deadline<\/a>, Variety<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"12 US states argue the mega media merger violates antitrust laws. Paramount\u2018s merger with Warner Bros Discovery has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":["post-551654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}