DOJ clears Paramount‑Skydance bid for Warner Bros; state AGs weigh lawsuit

moviesJun 15, 2026252,575

The Justice Department's Antitrust Division granted conditional approval Friday to Paramount‑Skydance's $111 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Career antitrust officials were leaning toward recommending a challenge, and several state attorneys general, including California AG Rob Bonta, said they will prepare lawsuits to try to block the transaction. The deal would unite Paramount and Warner Bros. libraries, bringing HBO, CNN, Star Trek and major film franchises under one owner controlled by the Ellison family. If completed, the merger would reshape streaming competition, advertising markets and news ownership, triggering prolonged legal and regulatory battles that could delay or derail the deal.

John Hudson

@johnphudson.bsky.social

This event is in honor of America's 250th bday, but to watch it, Americans have to pay for a subscription to Paramount+, the company owned by David Ellison, whose deal to merge with Warner Bros was approved by Trump and whose dad is a major Trump fundraiser

1655Yesterday

Dale13

I cancelled my Paramount+ subscription a few months ago, but my subscription ran until June 14. I’m so glad this is the day I’m officially unsubscribed.

Jimbo-a-logo9

Trump bought $15,000-50,000 in UFC Stock just before the announcement, plus this is a huge advertisement for UFC. 4,000 attendees is an embarrassment

Jim Cashel 🇺🇦8

All of it makes most Americans cringe and most foreigners laugh.

la-crystal.bsky.social5

Correction: It is NOT in honor of America's 250th birthday.

lisaandotis.bsky.social4

Fuck this and I canceled Paramount

MODoubtingThomas3

That can of Goya beans was so small.

Donna3

This is trump throwing himself a birthday party with our tax payer dollars.

web_rant2

It's all about the oligarchs. bsky.app/profile/john...

emtoo.bsky.social2

The ads are wall-to-wall sports gambling and prediction markets.

Karl Bode

@karlbode.com

in case you missed it (because they hid it late Friday news dump) the DOJ approved the Paramount/Warner Brothers merger. Their deep, robust analysis discovered that letting a Trump-allied Oligarch dominate media results in MORE competition. so a huge relief in case you were worried

"The evidence reviewed and carefully analyzed by the Division indicates that, post-merger, competition in SVOD is not likely to be harmed. To the contrary, the combined firm is likely to increase competition by offering consumers a more robust competitive alternative to the larger SVOD offerings. Based on extensive interviews with market participants and review of the parties’ own documents that were made in the ordinary course of business, the parties have a clear path to injecting additional competitive pressures across the media ecosystem to innovate and provide value to creators and consumers. Non-SVOD video alternatives such as YouTube, Tik-Tok, or other social media products do not appear to be competitive substitutes here under well-established antitrust legal precedents, although they compete broadly for consumer attention."

27420h ago

Karl Bode72

that is, of course, not how media mergers work the massive debt load ALWAYS results in mass layoffs, higher consumer prices, less competition, and sagging product quality. The DOJ of course doesn't care about that, but I'll still have to read about how they love "antitrust reform."

Anita Biscuit3

and Fox is buying Roku......let's get our roof antenna's back out.

ColoradoKrista2

JFC. The corruption is so blatant and shameless. They act like the fact that they have no shame means there’s nothing to be ashamed about. They’re wrong. And we the American people need to teach them that.

Mrs. Betty Bowers

@mrsbettyboowerrss.bsky.social

Elon musk becoming a trillionaire the same day the DOJ approves the paramount/warner brothers merger is too much. only one sign of the apocalypse per day, thanks.

29212h ago

McSpocky™

@mcspockyofficial.bsky.social

Jane Fonda @janefonda.com fights Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger, warning it threatens free speech & independent journalism. “I have a personal stake in CNN, I don’t want to see it go that way.” She urges state AGs to block deal before it flattens diverse media & culture. mcsp.short.gy/LNUn

59Yesterday

Raw Story

@rawstory.com

The DOJ's Antitrust Division formally cleared Paramount Skydance to absorb Warner Bros. Discovery, bypassing major regulatory hurdles. But reports suggest they may have rushed the process and ignored the opinions of career officials.

4114h ago

5 Calls

@5calls.org

Trump's DOJ has approved Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros and their unprecedented media consolidation. But this is not yet a done deal. A coalition of states are preparing a lawsuit to block it. Call your state's AG and urge them to join the lawsuit! 🔥📞🔥 5calls.org/issue/paramo...

3514h ago

Trump Action Tracker

@trumpactiontracker.bsky.social

After months of meticulous courtship of the president and his senior aides, Paramount got word on Friday that the Justice Department would not challenge its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, eliminating one of the last major obstacles fo... TAT: [Corruption | Controlling information]

27Yesterday

Ms. Misanthrope 🇺🇸

@lilmsmisanthrope.bsky.social

Trump's DOJ approved Paramount/Warner Bros. for the Ellison family without conditions. Fox announced a $22 billion Roku deal pending the same DOJ. The UFC event streamed on Paramount+. The State Department signed a UFC partnership. Trump holds Oracle stock. Ellison founded Oracle.

1920h ago

Scott Nover

@scottnover.bsky.social

The streaming wars just intensified. Fox announced a deal to buy Roku for $22B, days after DOJ approved the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery mega-merger. Fox's deal is all about free, ad-supported streaming. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

2219h ago

SeminoleNative23

Bye bye Roku Not my thing now

Planet Eater3

if it's ad supported, it's not free.

Lee West

@whodat35.bsky.social

President Trump’s former criminal atty Todd Blanche — and acting head of DOJ — just rubber stamped the Paramount-Warner Brothers Discovery merger without SERIOUS consideration of the antitrust issues. www.marklitwak.com/blog/the-par...

1717h ago

Lee West8

Block the Merger Vows to Stop Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Despite DOJ Green Light “This merger is not a done deal, and we will continue to work to make sure it never is,” the coalition writes. | The Wrap www.thewrap.com/industry-new...

Lee West4

As the open letter from more than a thousand film and television professionals concludes: “Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement.”22 Regulators and legislators who take both propositions seriously should act accordingly.

Trevor

@awholedamntown.bsky.social

Yeah, they're fucking a lot of my friends with this merger. It's fucking disgusting. A lot of people I worked with at the TV station moved to Atlanta for jobs with Paramount and Warner Bros. I'm just so sick of this shit.

1413h ago

Debbie Mack

@dmack30.bsky.social

Can someone please explain to me just how is The DOJ involved in the approval process of the merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers? Now that isn’t really something that The DOJ would typically do, is it? Is this just another Trump BS tactic?

2413h ago

TG4

It actually violates antitrust laws. Under a normal administration instead of Trump's Billionaire boys club it would be illegal for that merger to take place. Now Baby Ellison owns CBS and CNN news.

pianoplayer.bsky.social2

It’s typical and required. The scandal/bs is that the DOJ approved this particular deal which screams corruption.

The Media and Democracy Project

@mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social

We have to #BlockTheMerger to #StopTheCorruptTakeover of American media. The Ellisons with assists from Trump, FCC Chairman Carr, Saudi /petrostate money and $79B in debt are looking to take control of Warner-Bros TO shape culture TO shape narrative and crush press-freedom to advance their agenda.