Xavier Becerra urges California to settle Paramount-Warner Bros. lawsuit
xavier Becerra, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in California, has urged the state’s attorney general to settle an antitrust lawsuit against Paramount, Skydance, and Warner Bros. Revelation before its scheduled trial next year. becerra’s appeal follows California attorney General Rob Bonta’s reluctance to pursue settlement talks to resolve the multistate lawsuit challenging the $111 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros.,which Bonta argues could create excessive market power in film distribution and cable markets. Becerra, with his background in antitrust cases, emphasized the importance of protecting Hollywood and California’s entertainment industry, considering whether mergers benefit the state’s families and industry. the lawsuit aims to block the merger under federal law, with the trial set for March 2027. paramount has expressed a desire to settle out of court, but Bonta remains firm on litigation, and Paramount CEO David Ellison has threatened to relocate if no progress is made-though Bonta dismisses this as blackmail. Becerra considers California’s entertainment industry vital and opposes the departure of major companies, advocating for negotiations rather than courtroom battles.Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom has not publicly commented on the case, though there are concerns about potential job impacts. Republican candidate Steve Hilton criticized Bonta’s lawsuit as politically motivated, arguing against the merger’s purported benefits.
Xavier Becerra, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in California, urged the state attorney general to settle its antitrust lawsuit with Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery before the case is set to go to trial next year.
His plea comes after California Attorney General Rob Bonta suggested he does not want to pursue settlement talks to resolve his multistate lawsuit against the $111 billion merger.
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“I hope it settles before court,” he said at a Politico event on Tuesday in Sacramento. “It is easier to stand in a conference room and settle than it is to stand in a courtroom. I say that having had to stand both in the conference room and in the courtroom. You get way more done in the conference room than you do in the courtroom.”
Becerra served as California attorney general from 2017 to 2021 and has some professional experience with antitrust cases. He said those cases are “very difficult” because they involve so many facts.
The former state attorney general did not address the merits of Bonta’s case, but he did express that the lawsuit should benefit Hollywood first and foremost.
“In terms of what’s going on in this particular case, the entertainment industry is our baby in California,” Becerra said. “We have to fight to keep it vibrant.”
“If a merger is good, that helps … that keeps it vibrant, I’m willing to say, let’s take a look,” he added. “If that merger undermines the ability of the industry of remaining vibrant, then I’m going to take … a closer look as well. At the end of the day, is it good for the entertainment community in California? Does it benefit California families to have another merger occur? And then, at the end of the day, who will settle it?”
The lawsuit, filed by California and 11 other blue states, seeks to block the merger under federal antitrust law. Bonta is concerned that the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. entity will have too much market power in the theatrical film distribution and basic cable markets.
As it stands, the trial is set to start on March 2, 2027, and last for two weeks in court.
Instead of going to court, Paramount wants to negotiate a settlement with the states. However, Bonta has proved immovable in his intent to litigate the case in court.
Paramount CEO David Ellison is reportedly planning to move his business out of California to another state as soon as Oct. 1 if there is no progress on settlement talks by then. Bonta dismissed the company’s reported relocation threat as “blackmail,” which Paramount denies.
Becerra took a more moderate stance than Bonta, arguing Paramount’s possible exit from California would not be economically beneficial for the state.
“Having a major player in the industry leave would not be good,” he said. “At the same time, I said as well, ‘Is it going to be good for working families?’ Having them leave the state is certainly not good for working families. So let’s be adults, not be kids. Conference room, not courtroom.”
ROB BONTA CALLS PARAMOUNT’S THREAT TO DITCH CALIFORNIA ‘BLACKMAIL’ TO FORCE SETTLEMENT TALKS
The gubernatorial front-runner’s comments are notable, considering Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has refrained from publicly commenting on Bonta’s lawsuit against the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Recent reports indicate Newsom is concerned about the antitrust case because a blocked merger could have an adverse effect on local employment in the entertainment industry.
Meanwhile, Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate who will face Becerra in November, called Bonta’s antitrust lawsuit “totally politically motivated” while saying the Democratic attorney general’s arguments against the merger “just don’t add up.”
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