Paramount Settles With 12 States, Clearing Hurdle for $110B Warner Bros Discovery Merger

Paramount Skydance settled with California and 11 other states that sued to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a source said on September 21, 2026, removing a major obstacle to closing one of Hollywood's largest media mergers. The settlement creates independent editorial boards for CNN and CBS to safeguard news independence, and imposes a $30 million penalty per film for any shortfall against Paramount's pledge to release 30 movies annually, the source said. The deal would unite two major film studios, two streaming services and two cable-news operations under one owner. A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, sued in July to block the merger on competition grounds. Settling helps Paramount avoid a $7 million daily fee owed to Warner Bros shareholders for each day past September 30. EU and UK regulators have already cleared the deal. Neither company commented.