In a Wednesday order, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that the proposed consent decree was a "fair, reasonable, and good faith approach to address the competitive harms" alleged in the states' lawsuit. Paramount had previously called the antitrust challenge the last hurdle before closing, and the companies now expect the deal to complete on October 6.
The last hurdle falls
Top prosecutors from 12 states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued in July with an initial goal of blocking the merger outright. They alleged that a combined Paramount-Warner company would "extinguish competition" and leave moviegoers and cable customers with fewer choices. The Writers Guild of America joined the fight, warning the combination of legacy studios would reduce jobs for screenwriters.
The states agreed to settle last week after Paramount committed to raise U.S. film production over the next five years, contribute millions of dollars to a fund supporting workers displaced by the merger, and establish new editorial monitoring of CNN and CBS. Paramount, itself acquired by Skydance just last year, also secured merger clearance from regulators around the world, including the Trump administration's Justice Department.
A $1.5 billion production pledge
Under the settlement, the company behind hits like "The Godfather," "Top Gun," and "South Park" agreed to invest at least $1.5 billion more in domestic production over five years and fund a workforce-training program for the entertainment industry. Paramount CEO David Ellison called the merger a "transformational moment for our industry" and said he would lead a business that is "creator-first, tech-forward and built to scale globally."
What the combined giant looks like
The merger brings together two of Hollywood's five remaining legacy studios, plus HBO Max, the "Harry Potter" and DC libraries, and cable networks including CNN and Cartoon Network — all under the same roof as CBS, the "Top Gun" franchise, and Paramount+.
Hours after the ruling, Paramount announced that Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz will join the company on October 5 as co-CEO alongside Ellison once the deal closes. Critics, however, argue the settlement terms are too weak and the deal will further concentrate power in an industry already run by a handful of major players.
Kreiz's appointment marks a notable cross-industry move: the Mattel chief is credited with the Barbie turnaround that lifted the toy maker's stock, and investors will be watching whether his consumer-brand playbook translates to a combined streaming and studio empire.
By Hamza Faisal
