Reaction to lawsuit blocking Warner Bros.-Paramount merger

BURBANK, Calif. (NBC, KYMA) - California residents and entertainment experts are sharing their reaction to a lawsuit to block the merger between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Paramount Skydance.

"It would [a] monopoly," said one California resident.

"We got to keep Hollywood, Hollywood you know?" said another California resident.

California is among a dozen states suing to block the biggest merger in Hollywood history, saying it would hurt customers and Hollywood.

The $110 billion deal would combine Paramount and WBD.

"This $110 billion proposed merger, the largest merger in Hollywood history, would extinguish competition," said Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Standing beneath the Hollywood sign Monday morning, Attorney General Bonta announced 12 states, including Arizona, are suing to block Paramount's takeover of WBD.

The lawsuit says combined, the two studios would be an illegal monopoly, controlling nearly one third of U.S.-made movies and basic cable channels.

The Department of Justice announced last month it was dropping the antitrust investigation into the merger, finding that the deal was not likely to harm competition or American consumers. However, Bonta disagrees.

"This merger would snuff out competition, drive up prices, diminish content quality, and produce fewer movies and shows each year. That is the bottom line," Bonta explained.

Entertainment industry experts say there's concern that if it goes through, the Paramount-WBD merger would cut down on the number of movies and shows filmed in Los Angeles.

This comes after data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Hollywood has already lost more than 40,000 production jobs since 2022.

"The number one that I hear about is jobs, thousands of jobs potentially at risk as the two companies consolidate and decide that there's a lot of overlap that they don't need," said Gene Maddaus with Variety.

In response to the lawsuit, Paramount issued the following statement, saying in part:

"We will vigorously defend the transaction and demonstrate that this challenge is inconsistent with sound competition policy and the competitive realities of the media marketplace. Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs."

At Monday's announcement, reaction to reports that advisors of Paramount owner David Ellison are pushing him to consider moving the company out of state, taking $30 billion in planned spending with it.

Bonta shared his thoughts on the report saying, "We heard that claim yesterday for the first time. And honestly, it seemed like a last-ditch effort to try to blackmail my office and the attorneys general into allowing an illegal deal...an illegal merger to go through."

Entertainment experts say Paramount probably wouldn't be able to flee to the other capital of the industry, as New York is also part of the lawsuit to block the merger.