The union representing film and television writers has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to block the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the deal would reduce opportunities and eliminate jobs.
The Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East filed the 55-page complaint Tuesday, July 14, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
“If Paramount succeeds in buying Warner Bros., the merged firm will be the largest buyer of original film and television programming in the United States, eliminating vigorous competition from a major film and television studio that has operated for more than a century,” the lawsuit stated.
The guild warned the combined company could cut programming, reduce the volume and diversity of television shows and streaming series, and hurt an entertainment industry already struggling through an economic downturn.
“With fewer competitors, the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. entity would have both the incentive and the ability to lower costs by suppressing writers’ wages and reducing output,” the lawsuit said.
Related: California Leads 12-State Lawsuit to Block Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
The complaint additionally raised concerns that the merger would violate antitrust laws by cutting opportunities in three key areas:
-Top-grossing feature films
-Episodic television and streaming series
-Overall development deals with the studios
“This proposed combined entity would be the largest employer of writers, with tremendous power to suppress our wages, eliminate opportunities for emerging writers, cut jobs across the industry, and produce less programming,” WGA East President Tom Fontana said in a statement.
“This merger is not inevitable and we are fighting to stop it,” Fontana added.
Paramount disputed the guild’s claims, saying the merger would “expand opportunities” instead of cutting them.
“A combined Paramount-WBD will have the scale and resources to reverse the current trends in our industry and expand opportunities for writers, not shrink them: more development slates, more series and film greenlights, and our continued strong commitment to working with the guild’s writers across our brands,” the company said in a statement.
The WGA lawsuit was filed one day after the attorneys general from 12 Democratic-led states filed their own antitrust suit seeking to block the merger, and alleging the combined company would have outsized power over the film and basic cable television markets.
The states argued the deal would give the combined company control of 30% of feature film distribution and 27% of the basic cable and satellite television market.
“The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
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