Paramount's owners were planning to have secured firm control of Hollywood rival Warner Bros. Discovery by the end of this week in a blockbuster deal that has the blessing of President Trump's Justice Department.
A federal judge has instead ground the process to a halt, at least for now. And her ruling on Monday in response to a lawsuit filed a week ago by a dozen states suggests Paramount may have some tough sledding ahead in order to get the deal through.
In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a 14-day temporary restraining order to pause the acquisition. The Democratic attorneys general allege that Paramount's purchase of Warner Bros. would reduce competition, hurting filmgoers along with TV and news consumers and especially those who create entertainment programming and the news content that the public relies on.
The $111 billion deal would put under the same corporate roof Paramount's and Warner's movie and television studios, streamers Paramount+ and HBO Max, Paramount's CBS (the nation's most watched broadcast outlet), and 50 cable TV channels, not to mention both CBS News and CNN.
California governor Gavin Newsom has signed off on a package of bills aimed at bolstering election...
More than 1,600 critically imperiled species protected under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) face losing...
While Donald Trump ponders demolishing the Kennedy Center unless his name is added to the memorial...
