Not so fast, Hollywood.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a pointed statement Thursday reminding everyone that the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger "is not a done deal," signaling that state regulators plan to scrutinize the hell out of what would be the largest media consolidation since Disney absorbed Fox.
Bonta's office is reportedly concerned about three things: monopolistic control of content, vertical integration that could freeze out competitors, and the concentration of news outlets under one corporate umbrella. All legitimate concerns! All likely to be steamrolled anyway, because this is America and we stopped enforcing antitrust law sometime around 1995.
But let's give Bonta credit for trying.
The content monopoly argument is straightforward: combining Paramount's library (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, SpongeBob) with WBD's assets (Harry Potter, DC Comics, HBO's entire catalog) creates a company controlling an absurd percentage of American pop culture. If you're a competing streamer trying to license recognizable IP, you're now bidding against a company that owns Batman, Gandalf (wait, no, wrong studio), and Elmo. Actually, Elmo is Sesame Workshop. Point stands.
Vertical integration is trickier but potentially more dangerous. Paramount owns CBS, a broadcast network. WBD owns HBO, CNN, and Turner Sports. If they merge, you have one company producing content, distributing it on their own networks, and controlling the streaming platform it lives on. Competitors get frozen out at every level—no access to premium content, no way to negotiate fair licensing deals, no ability to compete on equal footing.
