Dem senators urge FCC to put Paramount-Warner Bros – Business News
Three Democratic senators have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger on pause over issues about international traders controlling what could be one of the most important media firms within the United States.
In a joint letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, senators Cory Booker, D- N.J.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded he “must foreclose any attempt by Paramount to close this transaction” earlier than an sufficient review of the concerned international traders is accomplished.
The lawmakers mentioned the FCC should conduct this review to consider potential “national security threats posed by foreign government investment” within the $110 billion entity. If accredited, the merger would carry CNN and CBS News below one company proprietor, additional consolidating the information media panorama.
Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison, acknowledged in an April financial disclosure cited by the senators that international possession within the new company will rise to “approximately 49.5 percent.” In that doc, Paramount additionally mentioned that each one voting rights can be “controlled by the Ellison family through U.S. entities.”
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr speaks during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 2025 Global Aerospace Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 9, 2025. REUTERS
The doc revealed that Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund and numerous entities primarily based within the United Arab Emirates and Qatar could be equity holders.
Paramount advised the FCC in April that this association wouldn’t current “any national security, law enforcement, or foreign or trade policy concerns.”
The senators need a more rigorous examine of what this stage of international possession would imply, telling Carr of their letter that he shouldn’t take the Ellison household’s statements “at face value.”
The Paramount water tower is proven on the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 13, 2026. REUTERS
They argued that the FCC ought to reject Paramount’s petition for preemptive approval. Under Section 310 of the 1934 Communications Act, international people, firms and governments are usually prohibited from proudly owning more than 25% of a U.S.-based firm that has an FCC-issued broadcast license.
Booker, Schiff and Warren gave Carr a July 1 deadline to notify Paramount that the deal can not close till the international investment review is accomplished.
The FCC’s pending approval is the most important regulatory hurdle in the best way of the merger. The Department of Justice signaled final week it might not problem Paramount’s bid to purchase Warner Bros.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks at a press convention with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on Democrat’s plan to decrease the associated fee of childcare, on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on June 17, 2026. Nathan Posner/Shutterstock
The DOJ’s antitrust division concluded after an eight-month review that “the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” with regard to on-demand streaming, linear tv and studio development and the manufacturing and distribution of movies.
Warren criticized this resolution by the DOJ and urged state attorneys common to proceed preventing the transaction. California Attorney General Rob Bonta was already main a coalition of states in making ready a lawsuit to block Paramount from including Warner Bros. to its growing portfolio.
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More than 5,000 filmmakers and actors working in Hollywood signed an open letter in April furiously demanding that the merger be stopped. They argued that it might stifle competitors and cut back job alternatives.
“Our industry is already under severe strain, in large part due to prior waves of consolidation. We have witnessed a steep decline in the number of films produced and released,” in accordance to the petition. “We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good.”
