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Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr said Wednesday California could drop its joint lawsuit against Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery if CNN is spun off as its own media entity.
“There was a story that broke a couple weeks ago that said that California was floating the idea, according to news reports, of dropping all antitrust litigation if there was one condition that was met, which is that the purchase involved was spinning off of CNN,” Carr told The Hill’s Julia Manchester, noting that he doubts if the legal challenge will be successful.
He added he did not “understand what antitrust theory you have that says there’s a problem with this acquisition that is made or broken based on one cable channel being included.”
“So, I think it’s a bit of a tell that this really isn’t a legitimate antitrust case, but ultimately, that’ll be up for the courts to decide,” the FCC chair continued.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) was among 12 state attorneys general who filed a joint lawsuit Monday seeking to block the pending takeover. They argue that the deal violates antitrust law and would enhance Paramount’s power to set terms with theaters and cable channel distributors, while causing consumer prices to rise.
“These titans of industry must not move to merge until a court properly evaluates our claims,” Bonta said in a statement Monday, adding that he “will not let Warner Bros. and Paramount merge without a fight.”
The company said in its own statement on Monday that the lawsuit “distorts settled antitrust law and is based on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry today.”
The $100-billion agreement would deliver one of the oldest film studios in Hollywood to the growing media empire led by David Ellison, the son of Trump ally and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is one of the richest people in the world.
President Trump has also voiced his support for the merger, expressing his hopes of seeing CNN, a cable news channel he frequently criticizes, operate under new ownership.
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