On Thursday, Warner Bros. shareholders voted Discovery (WBD) has agreed to accept Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion bid to acquire the news and entertainment company. A merger of these two companies would create a media giant that includes CBS, CNN, HBO, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Paramount Pictures – among other major media properties – all under one roof.
The vote comes after a week of protests against the deal led by a coalition of First Amendment advocates, unions, democracy advocates and even famous Hollywood actors and directors who say the deal would give one company the power and incentives to raise prices, lay off thousands of workers and limit consumer choice, while giving one family — the Ellisons — the power to shape public discourse to suit their political agenda and the agenda of their allies in the Trump White House.
Co-CEO of Free Press Craig Aaron He said:
“Today, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted for their short-term financial gain, not for the greater good. While shareholders voted against large pay packages for departing executives — a symbolic rebuke, as the board does not have to listen to them — they opened the door to wholesale layoffs across the news and entertainment industry, more hype in news coverage, higher prices for consumers and fewer choices for audiences across the United States and around the world. But shareholders do not have the final say.”
“That’s why we have antitrust enforcement and law courts. As Trump officials welcome this deal, state attorneys general must investigate this massive industry consolidation and step in to stop the Paramount takeover. This massive merger will diminish creativity and diversity in entertainment, weaken the ability of journalists to expose wrongdoing and hold those in power accountable and endanger our democracy. It also concentrates too much media power in the hands of one company and one family, the Ellisons.”
“This corrupt merger is far from a done deal. Just because Paramount shareholders won’t take a stand against billionaire and White House control of the media, doesn’t mean we can’t. While Paramount flaunts its corruption and attacks Trump officials, we stand with the workers and artists at the heart of the news and entertainment industries — and with the American public, who deserve more than an ever-shrinking circle of control over what they see, hear, and read.”
background:
April saw widespread and growing public opposition to the Paramount/WBD merger. Last week, nearly 4,000 film and television industry professionals signed an open letter declaring their opposition to the pending deal.
On Wednesday, the Free Press and the American Economic Liberties Project hosted a press call with former Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, Writers Guild of America West President Michelle Mulroney, former CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta, and Oscar-winning director David Borenstein, to detail the many reasons this deal should not go through and call on state attorneys general to investigate and oppose the merger. The Free Press and allied organizations also delivered 171,000 signed petitions to Rob Bonta’s office, urging the California Attorney General to investigate.
On Thursday morning, protesters gathered with New York City Attorney Jumaane Williams, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Congressman Dan Goldman outside WBD headquarters in New York City, where they urged action to stop this dangerous merger from moving forward. Additionally, New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani issued a statement via social media: “Today, with a vote by shareholders of Warner Bros. and Paramount, New York City is on record: This merger must be stopped.”
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