{"id":4876,"date":"2026-07-25T05:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T05:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876"},"modified":"2026-07-25T05:35:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T05:35:25","slug":"paramount-faces-drawn-out-battle-with-state-ags-they-saw-the-writing-on-the-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876","title":{"rendered":"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tOnly a few days ago, the states\u2019 antitrust challenge to the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger still looked like a speed bump.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4874\">Nick Hakim\u2019s \u2018I Can See\u2019 Is a Hazy Alt-R&amp;B Masterpiece: Album Review<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tNow, it looks more like siege warfare \u2014 as Paramount has agreed to put the $111 million deal on hold for at least several months. In doing so, Paramount\u2019s lawyers have effectively conceded that they were not likely to prevail in an upcoming fight over an injunction and will instead try to beat the states at trial.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cI think they saw the writing on the wall,\u201d California Attorney General Rob Bonta told <em>Variety<\/em> on Friday. \u201cThey saw that the outcome of a motion for a preliminary injunction was a fait accompli. The die was cast. They were going to lose. Otherwise, why not challenge it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDavid Ellison, Paramount Skydance\u2018s chairman and CEO, had hoped to win a ruling denying the injunction by mid-September \u2014 allowing him to close the deal in time to avoid paying Warner Bros. shareholders millions of dollars a day. His lawyers pushed for a three-day evidentiary hearing in late August, where they could confront the states\u2019 expert economist and undermine the states\u2019 argument that the deal will result in illegal market concentration.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBut in a ruling on Thursday, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin  Paramount\u2019s bid to speed up briefing on that request, signaling she was not inclined to go along with the multiday hearing. The judge had already granted a 28-day restraining order, finding that the states had made a \u201cstrong showing\u201d that the merger was likely to harm competition, and the standard to get an injunction would be similar.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tParamount could have opted to wait for the ruling and then immediately appeal to the 9th Circuit. But Nexstar tried to do that after its merger with Tegna was enjoined in April \u2014 and is still stuck in limbo with no assurance of resolution anytime soon. Paramount would have faced a similar delay, likely pushing any appellate relief into early 2027.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tSo where does it go from here? <\/p>\n<p>\n\tTo trial, where Paramount still believes it has the upper hand against what it terms \u201cone of the weakest\u00a0merger challenges in modern antitrust history.\u201d The company hopes to get there as soon as possible, ideally before the end of 2026. <\/p>\n<p>\n\tWhenever a trial is held, it won\u2019t come fast enough to avoid having to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders $7 million per day, starting on Sept. 30. But that is a cost that Paramount will have to bear to get the deal done.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe 12-state coalition will push for a later date, arguing that it needs additional time to prepare.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cWe do think 2027 is appropriate,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cIf the judge said April 2027, we would not disagree with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tParamount has agreed not to close the transaction until five days after the trial ruling or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. Bonta argued that Paramount is pushing for a speedy resolution due to \u201cbusiness factors\u201d and not due process considerations.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cI\u2019m sure they want a fast trial,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s based on other reasons, not what\u2019s appropriate for a case of this magnitude.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4872\">Guillermo del Toro said \u2018Absolutely No Goddamn AI\u2019 in \u2018Pan\u2019s Labyrinth\u2019 3D Re-Release: \u2018We\u2019re Protecting a Lineage of Art\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe states will want extra time to obtain extensive discovery, including documents and depositions they were unable to get during their investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cParamount and Warner Bros. were dragging their feet. They didn\u2019t give us everything we wanted,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cIf they wanted to have a trial quicker, they could have given us the information we asked for in the pre-litigation discovery process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe trial will be held in Martinez-Olguin\u2019s courtroom in Oakland, Calif., and could last two to three weeks or more.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn the meantime, Paramount could seek to reopen settlement talks with the states. So far, Bonta said, the company has not offered the sort of structural remedies \u2014 that is, divestitures of cable or film distribution assets \u2014 that would have to be part of a deal. <\/p>\n<p>\n\tBonta has said repeatedly that he is not interested in \u201cbehavioral\u201d remedies, such as a consent decree guaranteeing a minimum number of film releases or 45-day theatrical windows, saying that those have proven ineffective in the past.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve never gotten anything that would come close to addressing the concerns we\u2019ve raised,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on litigation. We\u2019ve built momentum and we look forward to taking that momentum into trial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn its statement, Paramount argued that the strategic retreat was the best way to get to a decision on the merits of the deal as soon as possible. <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThis is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authorities around the world have already reached,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBonta argued the opposite \u2014 and now it\u2019s clear those arguments present more than a minor obstacle.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThis merger, if it is able to go through, will hurt Americans, will hurt Californians,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will raise their prices. It shouldn\u2019t break the bank to enjoy your favorite show on the couch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4870\">Trump Says White House Correspondents Dinner Is \u2018Largest Group of Trump Derangement Syndrome People Ever Put Together at One Time\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paramount conceded that its fight with 12 state AGs will not end in a quick knockout, but will drag on for months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[433,3341,434],"class_list":["post-4876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-paramount-skydance","tag-paramount-warner-bros-2","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019 - 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=4876\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019 - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paramount conceded that its fight with 12 state AGs will not end in a quick knockout, but will drag on for months.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-25T05:35:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T05:35:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876\"},\"wordCount\":908,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Paramount Skydance,\",\"Paramount-Warner Bros.,\",\"Warner Bros. Discovery\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Film\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876\",\"name\":\"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019 - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T05:35:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4876#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019 - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019 - Relocation Observer","og_description":"Paramount conceded that its fight with 12 state AGs will not end in a quick knockout, but will drag on for months.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-07-25T05:35:25+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019","datePublished":"2026-07-25T05:35:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876"},"wordCount":908,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp","keywords":["Paramount Skydance,","Paramount-Warner Bros.,","Warner Bros. Discovery"],"articleSection":["Film"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876","name":"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019 - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-25T05:35:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/750e8d9c5cb6039f8a9843180ffdb204.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4876#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Paramount Faces Drawn-Out Battle With State AGs: \u2018They Saw the Writing on the Wall\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}