{"id":4367,"date":"2026-07-17T05:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4367"},"modified":"2026-07-17T05:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:35:31","slug":"paramount-subscribers-fail-to-block-warner-bros-merger-as-states-will-try-again-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4367","title":{"rendered":"Paramount+ Subscribers Fail to Block Warner Bros. Merger as States Will Try Again Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tA handful of Paramount+ subscribers failed to win an order blocking the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday, but a coalition of states will give it another try on Friday.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe plaintiffs sued in April, alleging that they had faced price hikes and risked losing viewing options as a result of the transaction. At a hearing on Thursday, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin denied their bid for a preliminary injunction.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s extraordinary preliminary relief, and plaintiffs failed to submit a single item of evidence in support of the motion,\u201d the judge said. \u201cMoreover, I have some serious doubts about plaintiffs\u2019 standing to pursue these antitrust claims.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount will face a harder test on Friday, as a coalition of 12 attorneys general are seeking a temporary restraining order to pause the merger. The states filed their suit on Monday, alleging that the $111 billion merger will harm competition in the theatrical and basic cable markets.<\/p>\n

\n\tEarlier on Thursday, Paramount filed its opposition, arguing that the states are unlikely to prevail on their case and should not be granted a restraining order.<\/p>\n

\n\tJeffrey Kessler, Paramount\u2019s lead lawyer, was in the courtroom in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday afternoon to oppose the subscribers\u2019 lawsuit. He argued that the subscribers\u2019 attorney, Joseph Alioto, has recently filed five similar actions seeking to block major mergers \u2014 four involving some of the same individual plaintiffs \u2014 and has lost every one.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s very clear in this circuit and elsewhere that to get a preliminary injunction, you have to make a clear showing with evidence,\u201d Kessler argued. \u201cAnd when there is no evidence, then you cannot get a preliminary injunction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount has filed a motion to dismiss the suit, which Martinez-Olguin took under submission. She asked Alioto how he would amend the suit if given the option. Alioto said he would seek to obtain the discovery that has been turned over to California and the other states attorneys general.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re a private group,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not a government. We don\u2019t have the tools of a government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlioto previously filed lawsuits on behalf of private parties who were trying to block the , the , the , the , the and the .<\/p>\n

\n\tResponding to Kessler\u2019s argument about the prior lawsuits, Alioto said, \u201cThat\u2019s true \u2014 that these plaintiffs have filed other cases, and we\u2019re proud that they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey were sent to me by Senator Harry Reid because the Department of Justice would not challenge these mergers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe state attorneys general and Paramount previously agreed to link the private party suit to the states\u2019 case, which means that Martinez-Olguin will handle the state matter as well.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Writers Guild of America also a federal antitrust suit against the merger on Tuesday, while the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Public Integrity Project a shareholder derivative suit seeking to block the merger in Delaware Chancery Court.<\/p>\n

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A handful of Paramount+ subscribers failed to win an injunction blocking the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3253],"class_list":["post-4367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-paramount-warner-bros"],"yoast_head":"\nParamount+ Subscribers Fail to Block Warner Bros. Merger as States Will Try Again Friday - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4367\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paramount+ Subscribers Fail to Block Warner Bros. 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