Paramount-Warner Bros. Settlement: What the Guilds, AGs and Activists Are Saying

After almost a year in the trenches pulling together his historic combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, David Ellison has finally emerged victorious. On Monday, the Silicon Valley heir confirmed he’d reached a settlement with a group of state attorneys general, who sued to block the merger over antitrust concerns.

The proposed merger was met with heated opposition by activist groups, top talent like Mark Ruffalo and whispers by Ellison’s legacy media competitors. But groups like the Hollywood labor guilds are celebrating the settlement news, as the staring contest between Ellison and the AGs caused paralysis in development and spending seemingly across the board at both companies.

Here are the cheers, jeers and looming fears of the players involved in “ParaBros”:

WGA
The outspoken union acknowledged that their own active litigation against the ParaBros. merger could no longer continue once the state AG’s settled, largely over the cost of duking it out in court.

“We continue to believe the merger will cause damage to writers and the industry at large. Now that the Attorneys General have settled with Paramount, however, as a nonprofit, the WGA must contend with the reality of forging ahead alone, with no backing from government enforcers, with a complex antitrust lawsuit that would cost millions of dollars to pursue through trial. Consequently, we have also settled our lawsuit with an agreement from Paramount to prohibit writer layoffs at CBS News Broadcast for 5 years, and to pay $17.5 million to our health fund along with our attorneys’ fees in the litigation. Though we were not successful in blocking the merger, our advocacy brought more attention to the harms that this merger—and others like it—will cause. We will continue to fight the harms of industry consolidation.

As the number of outlets to sell our work to and the corresponding diversity of programming shrinks, we need industry-wide structural separation between streamers and studios in order to promote competition in programming, like the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules once required in broadcast television. We will continue to fight for these goals.”

DGA
The Directors Guild of America highlighted protections that the AG’s negotiated (read a comprehensive list of those here).

“We congratulate the parties on reaching an agreement that addresses a number of critical concerns related to the Paramount/WBD merger. The AG agreement contains important binding and enforceable commitments that protect theatrical film and television markets and domestic film jobs. Equally important, it brings clarity and stability to the industry during a period of decreased production. We especially thank California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, for their leadership. We intend to continue our discussions with Paramount regarding domestic television production, with a focus on ensuring a competitive and robust marketplace that protects jobs.”

SAG-AFTRA
The actors union underscored the power of collective bargaining.

“The settlement of the Attorneys General antitrust lawsuit, announced today, addresses some of our deep concerns about production levels and investment in U.S. production… We will continue to approach our relationship with Paramount with professionalism and the intention to work well together. We hope that the process of engaging with the attorneys general has impressed upon them the fact that in addition to collective bargaining, our members rely on the law to help protect our interests. These are the lowest standards that our employers must meet. All of the companies have the opportunity to exceed their legal obligations and make additional efforts to ensure that our workplaces are healthy and that employers honor our dignity.”

Mark Ruffalo
“Task” star Ruffalo is the face of celebrity dissent over the merger, engaging in an ugly back-and-forth with Paramount after promoting what the studio called “antisemitic tropes.”

“Gavin Newsom hands huge win to Trump and his billionaire cronies,” Ruffalo wrote simply on X, referring to California Governor Newsom.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta
If Ruffalo is the face of celebrity dissent, then Bonta was the final boss. Ellison’s most vocal opponent said this about his own settlement deal on Monday:

”Today, we have secured a settlement that resolves our antitrust concerns of the Warner Bros./Paramount merger — concerns that the merger will lower output and increase prices — by guaranteeing massive investment in domestic film production and providing enforceable guardrails to help keep cable prices competitive. Let me be clear: This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger. But we believe this settlement, which resolves our antitrust concerns in every market alleged in our case, protects competition and consumer choice, and puts workers’ needs, concerns, and futures first, is the best course of action. When we get down to brass tacks, what we heard over and over from people who would be most directly and immediately impacted by the merger is that what matters most is consistent film output, domestic production, and protecting the livelihoods of workers above and below the line. As such, our settlement provides court-enforceable commitments for more films, an infusion of an additional $1.5 billion into home-grown film production, and protections for workers who are impacted by the merger. There’s no Hollywood without the people who work on and off screen to make the magic happen, and today’s settlement protects workers, jobs, and Hollywood.”

Block the Merger Coalition
The advocacy group formed this summer in response to the pending merger went, as predicted, scorched earth:

“We vehemently oppose the agreement to allow David Ellison to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a bad deal for the future of film, entertainment, independent journalism, and a strong democracy in this country. We are disappointed and angry that the interests of average Americans have been trampled to benefit oligarch billionaires.“The Ellisons and other forces arrayed against us, but that didn’t stop us and so many others from standing up. We are proud of what we accomplished, and together, our coalition will keep fighting. From the thousands of leaders in the film and entertainment industry and elected officials, to the hundreds of thousands who joined them to make their voices heard, even in the face of potential retaliation, this was a grassroots movement that proved Americans are not going to take this corruption anymore. That energy is not going away.“This isn’t the last we will hear of the Ellisons or the fallout of this merger – and it’s not the last you will hear from us. Block the Merger was never just about one merger, but about the harms of media consolidation and promoting a diversity of voices. We will continue fighting for accountability and policy reforms to break up and prevent these large conglomerates. This one battle may be over in our efforts to defend democracy, but we won’t stop fighting until we win the war.”

More to come …