Paramount settles with US states in step towards merger with Warner Bros

Ellison-led Paramount will avoid daily $7m fee if the $110bn Warner Bros merger closes by September 30.

Paramount Skydance has reached a settlement with California and 11 other states that sued to block the $110bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery, both Reuters and Bloomberg News have reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The settlement, reported on Monday, will include independent editorial boards to oversee CNN and CBS amid concerns that political pressure could sway coverage. The lawsuits were brought by a coalition of 12 state attorneys general.

But free speech advocates are not convinced that will be helpful.

“An independent editorial board for CNN and CBS is a weak half-measure. The fish rots from the head, and this particular fish is headed by a compromised oligarch with a history of throwing journalists under the bus to advance his business interests,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera.

“The editorial board actually poses its own First Amendment problems when created pursuant to a settlement with the government. It’s unclear how the attorneys general can constitutionally hold Paramount accountable if the board doesn’t do its job without themselves interfering in content – the exact problem they’re supposedly trying to solve.”

Paramount Skydance is owned by tech tycoon Larry Ellison, a close ally of US President Donald Trump. The company is run by Ellison’s son, David, raising concerns the relationship could sway coverage of Trump and his policies.

The settlement also includes a $30m penalty if the media giant fails to produce 30 movies per year as it had promised, according to Reuters news agency.

It caps months of regulatory and legal wrangling over a deal that would dramatically concentrate power across Hollywood’s film, TV, streaming and news businesses.

By securing concessions aimed at preserving newsroom independence and maintaining movie production, Paramount appears to have addressed some of the concerns, bringing the two companies closer to completing a merger that will create one of the world’s largest media and entertainment groups.

Paramount did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that there were other considerations, including selling off CNN as well as creating an oversight board to help the cable news giant maintain editorial independence.

Apart from the July lawsuit by the coalition of attorneys general, the Writers Guild of America, had also sued to stop the deal. Bloomberg reported on Monday that the Guild had a reached a settlement over the weekend.

Terms of the deal will include concessions for workers, Bloomberg said citing an unnamed source. The company also agreed to protections for journalists at CBS and CNN that include headcount requirements for both outlets, it said.

The lawsuit represented a hurdle to bringing the two media giants together, a deal the Trump administration had already cleared.

Other measures under consideration include selling some cable channels, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The settlement will help Paramount avoid a $7m daily fee it owes Warner Bros shareholders for each day the deal does not close after September 30.

On Wall Street, both companies’ stocks surged on the news. Paramount Skydance was up 10 percent in midday trading while Warner Bros Discovery jumped 11 percent on Monday.