David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, has broken his silence on the company's $110bn (£86bn) takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, defending the deal in an op-ed published by The New York Times, according to BBC News. In his first public comments on the transaction, Ellison rejected claims that a combined media giant would exert excessive control over the market or erode newsroom independence.
First public defence
Opposition to the mega-merger relies on a vision of Hollywood that "no longer exists," Ellison wrote in The New York Times. Addressing concerns over the future of Paramount's CBS and Warner's CNN, he insisted the news outlets would remain non-partisan and stay positioned to "tell it straight down the middle."
Market power and competition
To counter antitrust concerns, Ellison argued that a merged Paramount-Warner would account for less than 20% of US television watch time, dropping to around 13% when accounting for YouTube. He positioned the combined company against tech giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, whose resources "dwarf ours."
Content investment commitments
Ellison highlighted commitments to expand traditional production, promising 30 theatrical films and 170 television series annually, backed by more than $30bn in annual content investment. He argued that scaling up content investment is vital to sustain creative workers against technology platforms driven by engagement algorithms, though he acknowledged that "nobody can dictate what audiences will love."
Legal battle and regulatory status
The legal battle escalated in July when 12 state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, alongside the Writers Guild of America, filed antitrust lawsuits to halt the merger. They argued the deal would violate the Clayton Act by reducing competition and harming opportunities for writers.
The US Department of Justice and international regulators, including the European Union, have already granted approval. Domestic legal challenges, however, have effectively frozen progress in the US. Federal proceedings remain on hold, with the trial pushed until 2 March 2027.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Deal value | $110bn (£86bn) |
| US TV watch time (merged company) | Less than 20% |
| US TV watch time including YouTube | Around 13% |
| Annual content investment | More than $30bn |
| Annual theatrical films | 30 |
| Annual television series | 170 |
| Antitrust trial date | 2 March 2027 |
The coming legal proceedings will determine whether the merger proceeds, reshaping the competitive balance between traditional Hollywood studios and deep-pocketed technology platforms. For executives, investors, and M&A advisors, the trial outcome and the court's interpretation of the Clayton Act will set a precedent for media consolidation at scale. The case also underscores the widening gap between roughly $30bn in annual content spending commitments and the algorithm-driven platforms Ellison says the deal is designed to compete against. Until the March 2027 trial date, the merger remains in legal limbo, with the clock running on a transaction Ellison insists is necessary to keep traditional Hollywood competitive.
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