When I joined California’s litigation against the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger, I was focused on three main goals: preserving entertainment choices at the box office, preventing a cable television monopoly that would raise subscription prices, and protecting an entertainment industry — and the workers that make it possible — that is an American cultural and economic engine. I believe the settlement we’ve reached with Paramount accomplishes these goals: 

• The agreement includes a commitment from Paramount to release at least 30 films a year for five years, which is as many as or more than Paramount and Warner Bros. have released in recent years, combined. Past entertainment industry mergers, like Disney and Fox, have led to dramatic drops in film output. This settlement ensures that won’t happen. 

• The agreement also compels Paramount and Warner Bros. basic cable channels to conduct separate negotiations with cable providers, helping to maintain competition and reduce the risk of huge cable price increases. 

• Paramount also agrees to increase its investment in our film industry from its 2025 level by at least $1.5 billion over the next five years. In Minnesota alone, that industry supports 5,400 jobs and generates almost $750 million in economic impact. This agreement protects those jobs, and unions concerned and the movie-theater association have endorsed it. 

This settlement should not be seen as my endorsement of this merger. I believe mergers like this are never done with the best interests of consumers, workers, and small businesses in mind and are instead designed to help a select few get richer. But in the specific legal context of this lawsuit, we won important commitments for Minnesotans while our coalition was at a moment of maximum leverage. We will keep a sharp eye on Paramount to make sure they meet these obligations — and will hold them accountable if they do not. 

Beyond this lawsuit, what we need is an antitrust revolution. Preventing mergers like this will require solutions that are both legislative and legal. I call on Congress to strengthen the oversight state attorneys general have over antitrust matters — and in the meantime, my Office beefed up our Antitrust Division, with the help of the Minnesota Legislature. We need stronger tools to protect workers, protect consumers, and ensure that oligarchs can’t merge their way to dominating our economy and our democracy while everyday Americans pay the price.

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