{"id":440178,"date":"2026-08-22T05:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T05:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/440178\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T05:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T05:42:18","slug":"paramount-state-ags-set-settlement-talks-on-antitrust-suit-newsom-talks-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/440178\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount, State AGs Set Settlement Talks On Antitrust Suit; Newsom Talks Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAfter weeks of speculation about Gavin Newsom<\/a>\u2018s true position on Paramount<\/a>\u2018s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery<\/a> and the antitrust suit filed a coalition of state attorneys general, the outgoing governor of California finally weighed in publicly today.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis comments come as it appears that Paramount representatives and state attorneys general offices are said to be meeting face to face on Monday, Deadline has confirmed. However, the depth and scope of the August 24 meeting is unclear, sources tell us. \u201cThis is mandated under the mediation procedure,\u201d an insider told Deadline on Friday.<\/p>\n

\n\tEarlier this week, a status conference hearing before Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin determined future dates in the contentious proceedings and stipulated that the parties engage in mediation before a magistrate judge \u2014 as is common in the federal system for cases like this.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Paramount CEO David Ellison Complains About \u201cNeedless Costs\u201d Of State AGs\u2019 Antitrust Suit As Mexico Approves Merger<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAs leaks have poured out of the Melrose lot of late that CEO David Ellison<\/a> is considering decamping his company to a red state<\/a> if the suit isn\u2019t settled, potential 2028 POTUS contender Newsom said he takes the Golden State exit threat \u201cseriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d Newsom said Friday of Paramount potentially relocating to Tennessee, Texas or Georgia. \u201cAnd I\u2019m of the belief they don\u2019t want that to happen. It\u2019s not, I don\u2019t think, in the company\u2019s long-term interest, but I take it seriously.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m concerned about the state, our reputation,\u201d the two-term Democrat added at an event today.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Gavin<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tReports have emerged during the past month that Newsom would like to see a settlement deal struck between the AGs and defendants Paramount and Warner Bros rather than the whole affair heading to trial. The governor\u2019s office has neither confirmed nor denied Newsom\u2019s POV, but until today he was one of the few voices silent on the merger and the lawsuits.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Paramount attempting to achieve a court order for a $1.88 billion bond<\/a> and a looming $7 million-a-day ticking-fee deadline, a trial has been set for March 2<\/a> in federal court in Oakland. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs well as addressing Paramount\u2019s purported temper tantrum about an exodus from California, Newsom today also offered some guidance on his thoughts about the lawsuit fronted in some ways by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: California AG Rob Bonta Open To Structural Remedies In Paramount-WBD Suit But Calls 30 Movies A Year An \u201cOld, Stale Promise\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tEchoing Bonta\u2019s words that the whole matter could be settled in the boardroom not the courtroom, the governor added: \u201cI think there\u2019s some universal settlement there, if that\u2019s possible. The question is [whether] that\u2019s possible and what\u2019s the best deal \u2026 that has to be worked through.\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rob<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta left, Paramount CEO David Ellison<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tTo that, the media-savvy Newsom threw out a bit of a gold nugget \u2014 or firecracker, depending on your perspective \u2014 to all concerned. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI know there are many meetings that are going on, and there\u2019s a lot of conversation,\u201d Newsom said, seeming to indicate the semi-secret settlement talks between ParaBros and the AGs. <\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: California Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee Xavier Becerra Says He Prefers Settlement Of Paramount-WBD Antitrust Lawsuit: \u201cConference Room, Not Courtroom\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tWhile everyone under the California sun, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass<\/a>, IATSE, the DGA<\/a> and many more have joined the Paramount chorus advocating for settlement talks, Bonta has been keeping his powder dry and clearly weighing his options. Blasting Paramount\u2019s threats to leave the state as \u201cblackmail,\u201d Bonta has appeared set on taking the whole thing to trial next year.<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, with Newsom\u2019s claims of talks happening in \u201creal time\u201d \u2014 though the governor was vague as to what that actually means \u2014 tactics and strategy on both side seem to be up in the air, both politically and legally.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Could Cable TV, That Vestige Of Bygone Media Glory, Undo The Paramount-WBD Merger?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAG Bonta\u2019s office did not respond to Deadline\u2019s request for comment on Newsom\u2019s remark, and Paramount had no comment on what the governor said, though execs at the latter more than likely are doing a happy dance over there right now.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith all of that and all the twists and turns this battle of corporate and political (yes, we see you CNN) will, at this point on a Friday, all we can say is stay tuned.<\/p>\n

\n\tErik Pedersen contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After weeks of speculation about Gavin Newsom\u2018s true position on Paramount\u2018s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,21405,457,6336,121957,26368],"class_list":["post-440178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-david-ellison","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-paramount","tag-paramount-wbd","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}