Judge puts Paramount-states Warner Bros. settlement under microscope, sets hearing
Paramount's plan to buy Warner Bros. Discovery cannot close just yet. The judge overseeing the case says she still has questions about the settlement meant to clear it.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin said she has outstanding questions about the factual and legal underpinnings and implementation of Paramount's proposed consent decree with 12 state attorneys general. A consent decree, meaning a court-approved settlement that the judge must sign off on, would resolve the states' challenge to the merger. The judge set a hearing for 11:00 a.m. PST on September 24, 2026 via Zoom to address those questions, according to Variety.
Approval matters here. The settlement does not take effect until the judge enters it. She has not yet ruled on the request to enter the decree and dissolve the stipulation not to close, meaning the existing agreement not to finalise the deal stays in place for now.
In the same order, the judge granted the parties' request to vacate a separate September 24 hearing. That hearing would have covered Paramount's motion to require the states and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) to post a $1.88 billion bond.
The states' case is led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The coalition alleged the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would hold excessive power in markets for wide-release and tentpole theatrical films as well as basic cable.
For viewers, this means the fate of two large catalogues — from CBS and Paramount Pictures on one side to CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. on the other — remains undecided for another day.
What is in the proposed settlement has been reported by Reuters, citing the parties' filings. It includes the creation of independent editorial boards for CNN and CBS, and a $30 million penalty per film for any shortfall against agreed theatrical commitments, according to Reuters. The proposed merger itself is valued at $110 billion, Reuters reported.
The case has already seen several turns. Paramount prevailed in its bid for a new judge, with Martinez-Olguin taking over the federal antitrust case, the Los Angeles Times reported. She then granted a 14-day temporary restraining order, a short court order pausing the deal, after hearing argument from both sides.
