The mammoth deal has raised questions about corporate consolidation and media editorial independence.
Published on September 30, 2026
A US judge has issued an order giving media giant Paramount the green light to complete its acquisition of entertainment company Warner Bros. for $110 billion, despite fears about the long-term impacts of media consolidation.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved a settlement between Paramount, Warner Bros. and a group of 12 states that had sued to block the merger.
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In her ruling, Martinez-Olguin described the proposed agreement as a “fair, reasonable and good faith approach to addressing competitive harms.”
Analysts have long worried about the acquisition, one of the largest media mergers in history.
The coalition of states that sued to block the deal, led by California, had argued that Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. would effectively stifle media competition. They estimated that nearly a third of all theatrical releases and basic cable programming would be consolidated under the merger.
But the states dropped their lawsuit in favor of a settlement on September 21.
The five-year deal requires Paramount to meet theatrical film release quotas, committing to 30 releases per year in the United States.
It also requires the combined company to keep negotiations with cable providers for Warner-owned channels separate from its deals for Paramount-owned channels.
The agreement approved Wednesday also includes the creation of a five-member committee intended to safeguard the editorial independence of CNN and CBS, two major news networks.
But skeptics point out that the merger puts much of U.S. media under the control of David Ellison, who runs Paramount.
Under Wednesday’s agreement, Ellison is responsible for appointments to the board that would oversee the independence of the information.
The Paramount CEO is the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a staunch supporter of pro-Israel causes who has close ties to President Donald Trump’s administration.
Film production company Skydance founder David Ellison acquired Paramount last year in another controversial merger.
The 2025 Paramount-Skydance deal placed CBS under Ellison’s control. Before the merger, skeptics questioned the abrupt cancellation of CBS comedy show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which had criticized Trump.
Ellison then named Bari Weiss, a pro-Israel media personality, to head CBS News, a move that also raised questions about diminishing independence within major media outlets.
Some critics described Wednesday’s settlement as yet another capitulation to powerful business interests.
“Allowing a Trump-aligned foreign conglomerate to dominate American news and entertainment is a disastrous result,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said following the deal’s announcement.
But public officials, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have called on his state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, to abandon efforts by the 12 states to block the deal and instead seek a settlement.
Paramount emerged victorious in a bidding war with streaming giant Netflix in February to take control of Warner Bros.’ stake.
This includes a range of media and entertainment services, including film studio Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN and HBO Max. The Trump administration approved the deal without changes in June.
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