{"id":441784,"date":"2026-08-24T05:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/441784\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T05:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:58:13","slug":"california-ag-to-ask-paramount-divest-from-some-cable-channels-to-settle-antitrust-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/441784\/","title":{"rendered":"California AG to ask Paramount divest from ‘some’ cable channels to settle antitrust lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paramount might be forced to part ways with some of its cable networks if it wants to complete its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n

According to a report<\/a> by Joe Flint and Jessica Toonkel in\u00a0The Wall Street Journal on Sunday night, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who along with 11 other states is suing Paramount on antitrust grounds over its planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, is expected to meet with Paramount CEO David Ellison on Monday and ask him to \u201cdivest some cable channels and commit to keeping [Paramount\u2019s] studio separate from Warner Bros.\u201d as conditions to settle the lawsuit and allow the transaction to move forward.<\/p>\n

It is unclear exactly what \u201csome\u201d cable channels means in this context or if any of those cable channels would include the ones Paramount is set to acquire from Warner Bros. Discovery should the merger be consummated. In a sports context, Paramount owns CBS Sports Network. Warner Bros. Discovery owns the TNT Sports networks, which include TNT, TBS, and truTV.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit filed by the 12 state attorneys general argues the merger would create \u201ctoo much concentration\u201d in the market for cable networks, the\u00a0Journal reports.<\/p>\n

There is certainly motivation for Paramount and Ellison<\/a> to find a path towards a settlement. Beginning Oct. 1, Paramount will owe Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a \u201cticking fee\u201d for each day the transaction is not finalized. That fee amounts to about $650 million per quarter and, should the antitrust case go to trial, which is scheduled for next spring, Paramount would owe over $1 billion in such fees.<\/p>\n

It does not seem likely anything final will be hashed out at Monday\u2019s meeting. Per Flint and Toonkel, \u201cPeople close to the talks between the two sides are doubtful significant ground will be made Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The possibility of Paramount divesting in some of its cable networks could prove meaningful to sports fans, particularly if CBS Sports Network, TNT, TBS, or truTV are targeted. It\u2019s unclear if that would be the case. After all, much of the concern from Bonta and the other attorneys general is centered on the scripted entertainment business. It could be more likely that networks like Showtime, BET, MTV, or Comedy Central are the cable channels Bonta and Co. have in mind.<\/p>\n

If some of Paramount\u2019s cable networks do come on the market, it would be very interesting to see which companies come forward as potential buyers. While the cable TV business is in a steady decline, these networks still generate significant cashflow from monthly per-subscriber carriage fees.<\/p>\n

To be sure, there\u2019s still a long ways to go before Paramount agrees to divest in\u00a0any of its current (or future) cable networks. But the possibility appears to be firmly in play, pending settlement talks between Paramount and Bonta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paramount might be forced to part ways with some of its cable networks if it wants to complete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,138618,6336,2794,26368],"class_list":["post-441784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-cbs-sports-network","tag-paramount","tag-rob-bonta","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441784","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=441784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}