{"id":788085,"date":"2026-07-27T22:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/788085\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T22:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:13:09","slug":"some-warner-bros-execs-hope-states-antitrust-lawsuit-derails-paramount-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/788085\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Warner Bros. Execs Hope States’ Antitrust Lawsuit Derails Paramount Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPrivately, some top executives at Warner Bros. Discovery<\/a> are rooting for the 12 states that have sued to block Paramount Skydance\u2019s WBD takeover<\/a> to win in court and get the megadeal nixed.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s obvious, according to multiple sources, is that there\u2019s a sizable contingent at Warner Bros. of people who don\u2019t want the merger with Paramount to happen. And the prevailing feeling among some at WBD clearly is a hope that the state attorneys general lawsuit will gum up the works long enough to cause the deal to fall apart. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn a memo distributed to WBD staff Monday afternoon, Simon Robinson, the company\u2019s president of global experiences and studio operations and the executive who is leading the integration planning work, provided an update on the merger\u2019s legal situation. \u201cWe are confident we will prevail and firmly believe this transaction is pro-competitive and will deliver significant benefits to the industry,\u201d Robinson wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount has agreed to put the Warner Bros. Discovery merger on ice<\/a> pending the outcome of the trial in the antitrust case brought by 12 Democratic state AGs. That will delay the merger for at least a few months, and potentially up to a year or more, as the litigation plays out in court. The next step in the process will be negotiating for the trial date: Paramount wants it to start this fall, while the states want it to commence in 2027. The parties could potentially negotiate a settlement. But if the case goes to trial and the states prevail, Paramount would appeal the decision \u2014 and the merger could remain in legal limbo into the back half of 2027. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhile some at Warner Bros. Discovery hold out hope that the Paramount pact will hit a legal landmine, others have accepted that the $111 billion merger will probably be consummated. Right now, says one WBD exec, \u201cWe need more information\u2026 People have more questions than anything else.\u201d This person says, \u201cI don\u2019t pick up on resignation as much as people just wanting to know what they\u2019re looking at. Like, are we planning for the upfront next year?\u201d The answer to that, the exec adds, is that \u201cyou have to \u2014 because if this does drag out, it could take a year from now\u201d before the deal closes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new monthslong delay in the Paramount-WBD merger \u2014 and the looming prospect of mass layoffs if and when that happens \u2014 has left employees at both companies feeling unsure of what will happen and when. And uncertainty breeds anxiety.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount Skydance<\/a> chief David Ellison penned a memo to the company\u2019s employees<\/a> Monday addressing the deal pause and acknowledging the less-than-ideal situation. \u201cI know this additional uncertainty has been challenging, and I want to thank you for your continued patience, commitment and collective contributions,\u201d he wrote. Ellison reiterated his confidence in Paramount\u2019s legal case: \u201cWe believe this is the right path because the facts and the law are on our side, and a full hearing will demonstrate why the plaintiffs\u2019 arguments should not prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEllison also included that familiar \u201cit remains business as usual\u201d refrain that managers trot out when big transactions are pending.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Warner Bros. Discovery, the merger agreement offers fairly wide latitude in how the company runs its business prior to the deal\u2019s official close.\u00a0Through the M&A process, for example, WBD has expanded HBO Max internationally<\/a>. The company can enter into bundling agreements and acquire content, and has the flexibility to negotiate extensions or renewals with existing partners (such as the NHL or MLB) as well as content-licensing sales as long as the deals don\u2019t extend past December 2028. But the longer the Paramount-WBD merger gets held up, the closer the Warner Bros. teams will be to bumping into that timeline.<\/p>\n

\n\tA source in WBD\u2019s cable networks division says that, for now, it really is business as usual, \u201cwhich is surprising.\u201d All greenlit shows remain a go and the fall 2026 schedule is set, while new shows are being picked up already to air in 2027. The cable TV group is operating as if it really will be a year until Paramount-WBD could potentially close. There\u2019s a fear right now that certain deals or decisions could be undone later under a combined company, this source adds, \u201cbut that was true of when WarnerMedia and Discovery merged, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount definitely doesn\u2019t want the merger delay to damage WBD\u2019s long-term business outlook. \u201cThey need us to keep making money,\u201d a Warner Bros. exec says.<\/p>\n

\n\tAcross Warner Bros. Discovery, \u201cpeople are in different head spaces\u201d about the Paramount merger, says a company insider. For many leaders in the business units, \u201cThere\u2019s the initial, \u2018Oh wow, this is all happening,’\u201d this person says. But with ongoing delays, \u201cpeople get back to what they were doing.\u201d The process of planning for the Paramount-WBD merger integration right now \u201cis not a reality on a daily basis\u201d for, say, someone working in the motion picture group.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt Paramount, there\u2019s also a mix of attitudes. \u201cSome are like, \u2018I can\u2019t wait to bolt on XYZ\u2019 to my business,’\u201d says a source familiar with the company. \u201cOthers are thinking more like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to give up my fiefdom.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLast week, a number of top execs at Warner Bros. Discovery came out for the Academy Museum premiere of HBO Max\u2019s highly anticipated \u201cStuart Fails to Save the Universe,\u201d a sci-fi spinoff of \u201cThe Big Bang Theory.\u201d Those in attendance at the July 21 event included Warner Bros. TV\u2019s Channing Dungey, Clancy Collins White and Brett Paul, and HBO Max\u2019s Amy Gravitt. So more than a few gasps could be heard in the theater when \u201cStuart Fails to Save the Universe\u201d co-creator Chuck Lorre dropped this bombshell in his opening remarks: \u201cBy the way, I don\u2019t know if your phones have started buzzing yet, but big news: The Ellison-Paramount thing fell through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWait \u2014 what? Had everyone missed the biggest news of the summer as they got situated in their seats? Alas, it wasn\u2019t meant to be: Lorre was doing a bit. \u201cChipotle is buying Warner Bros.,\u201d he joked. \u201cChipotle WB.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe WBD execs in the room chuckled, but sighed. At the afterparty, the tension was real. As they attempted to stay cool as they mingled, attendees talked through scenarios about when and how the deal might still be stopped. Overall, the feeling that emerged from among those in the room was that the Paramount merger wasn\u2019t fait accompli. At this point, it looks like there will be several more months of waiting before there\u2019s clarity of the path forward.<\/p>\n

\n\tJennifer Maas contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Privately, some top executives at Warner Bros. Discovery are rooting for the 12 states that have sued to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[88,48502,10343],"class_list":["post-788085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-paramount-skydance","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}