{"id":468359,"date":"2026-09-18T22:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T22:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/468359\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T22:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T22:04:09","slug":"will-nashville-lure-another-california-titan-if-paramount-follows-through-on-threat-to-leave-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/468359\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Nashville lure another California titan if Paramount follows through on threat to leave? \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

As merger negotiations between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery continue amid litigation<\/a>, Tennessee is once again wooing another corporate powerhouse from California.<\/p>\n

Paramount has threatened to leave California<\/a> if a lawsuit blocking its merger with Warner Bros. is not settled. Executives are expected to meet with state Attorney General Rob Bonta\u2019s representatives next month for court-ordered settlement talks<\/a> in the entertainment giant\u2019s proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n

Nashville, which has been luring California companies to the state capital in recent years, is considering its prospects for a Paramount relocation.<\/p>\n

Three years ago, In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder announced plans to create an eastern regional headquarters south of Nashville in Franklin. Though the California-born hamburger chain maintains its corporate headquarters in Irvine, it\u2019s transitioning Southern California operations back to its roots in Baldwin Park by 2029<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oracle Corp., with familial ties to Paramount, also is relocating to Nashville. It left California for Austin, Texas in 2020.<\/p>\n

The rumors of a Tennessee pivot for Paramount come while Bonta and 11 other Democratic attorney generals are suing to block the merger with Warner Bros<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Justice Department wants the judge in the case to force California, the other states and the Writers Guild of America<\/a> to post a $1.88 billion bond to cover fees Paramount would owe Warner Bros. shareholders if the deal isn\u2019t finalized by Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

A hearing is set for Thursday, Sept. 24,<\/a> to decide whether California and the other parties must post the bond.<\/p>\n

Paramount and Bonta representatives are meeting Oct. 14-15 to look for ways to resolve<\/a> the impasse, according to documents<\/a> filed with a magistrate judge in San Francisco in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.<\/p>\n

If the merger goes through, CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network, HBO, TBS and the Paramount and Warner Bros studios would be placed under one roof.<\/p>\n

Paramount\u2019s Chief Executive Officer David Ellison told executives in early August that the move would involve headquarters staff first. An unidentified Bloomberg source told the news organization Ellison<\/a> was putting together a five-year plan that would shift most of the film and TV studio\u2019s jobs to the new home.<\/p>\n

Moving an entertainment titan like Paramount out of Hollywood would cause economic reverberations throughout the region. A leaked report<\/a> from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. outlines a loss of thousands of jobs if the company headquarters and other operations move out of state.<\/p>\n

The report says the county could lose nearly $2 billion in economic output between Oct. 1, 2026, and Sept. 30, 2031, according to a Sept. 16 story by Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Justin Adams, senior director with LAEDC\u2019s Institute for Applied Economics, a research organization that studies the Southern California economy, said the leaked report is a confidential \u201cinternal memo\u201d that is still in the process of being finalized for public release.<\/p>\n

Paramount spokeswoman Melissa Zukerman declined to comment.<\/p>\n

The pitches<\/p>\n

While Tennessee and other states are beckoning Paramount to their states, it remains to be seen whether Paramount\u2019s threats to leave are a bluff to force Bonta\u2019s hand to drop the merger challenge.<\/p>\n

Local chatter in Nashville indicates Paramount has been shopping for real estate, specifically half a million square feet of office space in the Tennessee capital, Nashville Councilman Jacob Kupin<\/a> said in an interview with the Southern California News Group.<\/p>\n

At a Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Duluth<\/a> last month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declined to comment on whether Paramount would relocate to Georgia. \u201cWhy the hell would they want to stay in California?<\/a>\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n

Georgia has stated that film and television productions spent a combined $2 billion<\/a> in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026.<\/p>\n

The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> wrote Sept. 16 that David Ellison met last month with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Film and television production in Texas is experiencing a major boom, driven by state funding and new studios.<\/p>\n

Patrick did not respond to an email or phone call for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Austin Film Commission has not been in communication with Paramount regarding a potential relocation or expanded presence,\u201d wrote Brian Gannon, a spokesman for the trade group, in an email to SCNG. \u201cThat said, Texas is a top-tier destination for major media production.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that Austin has been home to 400-plus feature film productions, 25 television series and over 2,500 commercials shoots \u2014 which have in-directly generated $67.4 billion in total economic impact since 1986.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that Austin offers a competitive environment for continued industry growth,\u201d said Gannon, who cited the state\u2019s $1.5 billion film incentive investment as a major draw.<\/p>\n

Tennessee also is making its case.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly a logical area for a company like Paramount to be,\u201d said Kupin. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a music city story. There are so many productions that have come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 100 film and television productions are filmed across Tennessee each year, most of them\u00a0centered in the Nashville area, according to the Nashville Film Institute<\/a>, which attributes the economic rise to new tax incentives for the industries.<\/p>\n

The case for the city was further bolstered last month when Nashville Mayor Freddie O\u2019Connell established a new office of entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kupin also said he\u2019s learned that Paramount has reached out to a handful of real estate developers about building new offices in Nashville, but remains suspicious, asking whether this is \u201ca bluff to get better support in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oracle connection<\/p>\n

Nashville in the not-too-distant future will be home to\u00a0Oracle\u2019s new headquarters \u2014 a huge campus in Kupin\u2019s district that also includes a new $2.1 billion indoor Nissan Stadium, currently under construction and scheduled to open next year.<\/p>\n

Larry Ellison, executive chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle, is the father of David Ellison.<\/p>\n

Designs have been finalized<\/a> for the $4.5 billion Oracle base on a 1.3 million-square foot office campus along the Cumberland River \u2014 officially dubbed East Bank Development.<\/a><\/p>\n

The company has committed to bring 8,500 jobs to the campus by 2031, according to a report in the Nashville Business Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n

Oracle moved its headquarters out of Redwood City six years ago. It said in 2024 that it was headed to Music City.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could see the familial connection playing a role in Paramount\u2019s move,\u201d said Kupin. \u201cI could certainly see a relative saying, \u2018Well, hey, you\u2019re already building a multibillion-dollar campus, do you mind if I scoot on in here with you. Is there room for one more?\u2019 It would make logical sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nashville has been luring companies for years, offering tax incentives to West Coast companies looking to cut costs.<\/p>\n

Kupin cited billionaire Carl Icahn\u2019s sale last year of his long-held, 47-acre industrial scrap yard property<\/a> across from the new football stadium project on Nashville\u2019s East Bank to a group of local investors for $245 million<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

And Starbucks plans to expand its regional presence by establishing a new Southeast corporate office in downtown Nashville, backed by a $100 million investment and plans for up to 2,000 jobs, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just a drop in the bucket on the development we have here,\u201d Kupin said.<\/p>\n

The Tennessee Department of of Economic and Community Development,<\/a> which works with the governor\u2019s office on luring new business to the state, would not confirm whether any active development project is in the works to bring Paramount to Nashville.<\/p>\n

Despite all the optimistic talk out of Nashville, a potential move by Paramount is not a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, via a spokesperson, said she is focused on \u201cprotecting and fighting for jobs in L.A., including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles\u2019 economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bass will continue to fight to make sure L.A is home to Hollywood, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

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