All posts tagged: Bros

The Paramount–Warner Bros. Merger Is Just a Band-Aid

The Paramount–Warner Bros. Merger Is Just a Band-Aid

Published by Daniella Wilson

In the fall of 1929, the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, then the most successful film company in America, seemed poised to buy Warner Brothers Pictures Inc. The latter was smaller and newer, but it had already become a lucrative commodity, having recently bought Vitagraph, an even tinier studio that operated cutting-edge sound technology. But in October came the stock-market crash, and with it a world of potential complication; among other hurdles, the executives involved were left waiting around for the Federal Trade Commission to approve the deal. “The merger is definitely off,” Albert Warner, a co-founder of Warner Bros., said at the time, “and will not be resumed again.” Almost a century later, the companies now known as Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are engaged in yet another potential merger. But unlike in the 1920s, when consolidations swept Hollywood during a boom in production, the companies today appear to be treating the move as something of a last resort—a consequence of an uncertain decade marked by the coronavirus pandemic, multiple industry strikes, a drop …

Justice Dept. approves Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery : NPR

Justice Dept. approves Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The main gate to Paramount Studios is seen on Melrose Avenue, July 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. Nick Ut/AP hide caption toggle caption Nick Ut/AP The Justice Department on Friday approved Paramount’s proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. After concluding its antitrust investigation into the pending merger, the department said in a statement that it found that the deal posed no threat to competition or consumers of film, broadcast television or streaming. The decision clears the way for a merger of two rival Hollywood studio titans: Paramount, the owner of CBS, including CBS News, will swallow the much larger Warner, which includes HBO and CNN. The DOJ”s Antitrust Division concluded that a union of two studio giants isn’t anti-competitive because the streaming market has expanded the competition for conventional Hollywood studios, which includes Netflix, Apple and Amazon, as well as smaller streamers. The Justice Department’s view is that, for the same reason, consumers won’t lose out because there are plenty of other places to get entertainment. Several states, including California, have raised antitrust …

DOJ Signs Off on Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

DOJ Signs Off on Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Justice Department has cleared Paramount‘s $111 billion megadeal for Warner Bros., a key approval that removes a major regulatory roadblock to completing the merger that will reshape Hollywood. The acquisition will “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem,” the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in an announcement on Friday. The agency found that markets for streaming, linear TV and the development, production or distribution of films for theatrical release will not be harmed. The decision clears the way for Paramount to become the largest theatrical distributor in the country and own a top five streamer by subscriber count unless the merger is stopped by another entity. “We are grateful for the Department of Justice’s thorough review of this transaction, as well as the work of the other agencies that have completed their reviews and provided clearance to date,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement. “This deal is pro-competitive, resulting in a stronger company better positioned to compete against dominant technology platforms in an industry increasingly defined by intense competition for audiences, talent, technology, …

Justice Department approves Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

Justice Department approves Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

Published by Sam Flores

The Justice Department has signed off on Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the way for a merger that will unite two historic Hollywood studios and reshape the American entertainment industry. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. In a statement, the department said it determined that the massive merger was “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.” The Justice Department said it reached that conclusion after receiving extensive feedback. “Over the course of a rigorous eight-month investigation led by the Division’s career staff, the Division received from the Parties over two million documents,” it said in a statement. It also said that it heard “extensive” advocacy from third parties during the process. The news was first reported by Politico. Paramount owns a 114-year-old film studio, the Paramount+ streaming service and the CBS broadcast network. Warner owns a 116-year-old film studio, the HBO Max streaming service and a suite of cable channels, including CNN. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison …

Hollywood workers push back against 0 billion Paramount-Warner Bros merger

Hollywood workers push back against $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros merger

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter A proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance is being framed as an “existential threat” to the American cultural industry, according to stand-up comedian Adam Conover, who spoke at a protest event on Saturday. “It’s about to die, and that’s why I feel so passionately about this issue,” Conover stated, addressing a gathering in Los Angeles. The event marked the first stop of a “Main Street vs. The Merger” tour, uniting entertainment workers, small business owners, and politicians in opposition to the deal. Approximately 100 people convened at Lumiere Music Hall, organized by advocacy groups, the Writers Guild of America, and industry workers concerned about the merger’s implications. While U.S. antitrust regulators appear poised to approve the combination, citing assurances from Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison that the merged entity would remain productive by releasing at least …

Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition to face lawsuit from US States

Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition to face lawsuit from US States

Published by skeptic

Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. could soon face opposition from U.S. States. As reported by Reuters, California, New York, and other unnamed states are preparing to file a lawsuit to block the merger. Sources say the lawsuit would be filed “in the coming weeks.” The lawsuit’s specific complaints are unknown at this time, though they could align with Hollywood and US senators‘ prior criticisms of the merger, which include antitrust concerns and concerns about the merger’s harmful impact on the increasingly fragile film and TV industry. Mashable Top Stories Even if the lawsuit doesn’t succeed in blocking the merger entirely, it could still significantly delay the deal. The consequences of a delay wouldn’t be pretty for Paramount. If the deal isn’t closed by October, the company will have to pay shareholders a daily fee of around $6.9 million. However, Paramount has been laying the political groundwork for a smoother journey to regulatory clearance. As Reuters notes, Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, has ties to President Donald Trump. David Ellison has also …

Paramount-Warner Bros Merger Should Be Reviewed, Not Resisted

Paramount-Warner Bros Merger Should Be Reviewed, Not Resisted

Published by Daniella Wilson

Hollywood is not just another sector of our economy. It is part of our culture, one of our great global competitive advantages, and a source of well-paying jobs for hundreds of thousands of Californians. From soundstages in Los Angeles to post-production facilities, visual effects shops, small vendors, independent contractors and family-owned businesses across the state, the movie and television industry supports an ecosystem that has taken generations to build and sustain. California leaders are right to take seriously their responsibility to protect and strengthen that ecosystem and the workforce that depends on it. The proposed $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery warrants a careful and rigorous review grounded in facts, market realities and established antitrust principles. Antitrust enforcement is an essential, vital tool when a merger is likely to reduce competition, raise prices, suppress wages or limit consumer choice. Attorney general Rob Bonta recently suggested that California sees “red flags” in the proposed transaction and is evaluating whether the state should mount an antitrust challenge. As a former California attorney general, I …

Pope Leo Schooled the Tech Bros on Tolkien

Pope Leo Schooled the Tech Bros on Tolkien

Published by skeptic

Nobody was surprised that Pope Leo XIV cited well-known saints and previous pontiffs in his first encyclical, or papal letter of spiritual guidance, “Magnifica humanitas,” released Monday. But the name that immediately jumped out to many readers is one synonymous with high fantasy literature: J.R.R. Tolkien, the Catholic author of The Lord of the Rings. Leo’s letter is concerned with “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence,” a major theme of his first year as leader of the Catholic Church. Drawing from his predecessor, Pope Francis, he warns of “the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm,” one capable of “reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.” He again compares the rise of AI to the Industrial Revolution that spanned from the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th, alluding to the teachings of his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, who in his own 1891 encyclical asserted the importance of workers’ rights and dignity during a time of technological …

Paramount Assembles Legal Team to Defend Warner Bros. Deal

Paramount Assembles Legal Team to Defend Warner Bros. Deal

Published by Daniella Wilson

Jeffrey Kessler, a heavyweight in antitrust litigation who most recently secured a landmark win for states suing Live Nation, will defend Paramount‘s $110 billion megadeal for Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio doesn’t expect legal challenges from the Justice Department, state prosecutors or foreign regulators, though Kessler would lead the studio’s defense if any are filed, according to a person familiar with the situation. The addition of Kessler bolsters Paramount’s formidable legal team, led by Makan Delrahim, Trump’s former assistant attorney general for antitrust. Also representing the studio: David Gelfand, ex-deputy assistant attorney general for litigation in the antitrust division under former President Barack Obama, and lawyers at Latham & Watkins and Cravath, Swaine & Moore who have been seeking regulatory approval of the deal. On Friday, a federal judge accepted Kessler’s application to represent the studio in a lawsuit filed by consumers challenging merger. The case is the opening salvo over the purchase that will reshape Hollywood. In a statement, Kessler called the complaint “baseless” and said it “resorts to political scaremongering that is both …

Finance Bros Tremble in Fear That They Could Be Replaced by AI Too

Finance Bros Tremble in Fear That They Could Be Replaced by AI Too

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech It’s not looking good for finance bros as another major banker has sung the praises of AI automating their profession. On Monday, CEO of JPMorgan Jamie Dimon said that the multinational lender would likely hire less traditional bankers in the future, and instead favor bringing in more AI specialists. Out with the pencil pushers, and in with the prompters. “I think it will reduce our jobs down the road,” Dimon said in a Bloomberg Television interview during the bank’s China Summit. “There will be all different types of jobs, and I think we will be hiring more AI people and fewer bankers in certain categories, and it will make them more productive.” Dimon’s remarks come amid a lot of unrest over how AI will shakeup white collar industries, as tools like Anthropic’s Claude Code and Claude Cowork have received significant hype for their ability to handle types of knowledge work ranging from programming to legal tasks. He’s also …