12 State AGs Settle Skydance-WBD Merger Suit as $30 Million Film Penalties Replace Divestitures
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Oct 6
12 State AGs Settle Skydance-WBD Merger Suit as $30 Million Film Penalties Replace Divestitures
3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Oct 6
Summary
California-led attorneys general dropped their antitrust challenge to the Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, clearing the way for the deal without forcing any news-asset divestitures.
The settlement instead binds the companies to theatrical-release commitments and separate cable carriage negotiations; missing the film promises can trigger $30 million per-film penalties, and a court could order sales of BET, Comedy Central or even Miramax.
Pressure built as a ticking fee increased the cost of delay, Skydance warned it could shift operations out of California, and Governor Gavin Newsom, labor groups, theater owners and political intermediaries pushed for a negotiated end.
The 12-state suit had followed DOJ approval and argued the merger could hurt competition in cable and major theatrical releases, but California's exit prompted other states and the Writers Guild of America to fall away.
Connecticut AG William Tong said he had sought full divestiture of CNN and CBS News, underscoring how the fight had widened beyond classic antitrust concerns and now leaves a reshaped Hollywood closer to reality.