Judge holds off on Paramount-Warner Bros settlement ruling
The $110 billion Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger still needs a judge's yes.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín held a virtual hearing on Thursday, Sept. 24, on outstanding questions about the proposed settlement between Paramount and 12 state attorneys general. The states brought an antitrust case, meaning a legal challenge over whether the deal would harm competition, to block the merger Variety.
She did not approve it. She gave no date for a decision, saying a ruling would come in "due course."
"I am not a rubber stamp," the judge said at the hearing. She said she had questions and wanted to confirm the settlement was the product of an arm's-length negotiation rather than collusion.
The proposed deal is a consent decree, meaning a court-approved settlement with enforceable conditions. Those conditions would run for five years, according to the hearing report.
The hearing, held at 11 a.m. PT via Zoom, added a new voice to the case. Sen. Cory Booker sent a letter to the court on Thursday urging independent public-interest review before any decree is entered Variety.
Paramount Skydance opposed that intervention. In a brief filed earlier on Thursday, the company called Booker's filing an "improper pseudo-amicus submission," meaning, in its view, an outside filing the court should not accept.
The judge did not decide that dispute on the spot. She ordered the parties to file replies to Booker's letter by noon PT on Monday, Sept. 28.
What makes this stand out is how close the business timetable is running to the court timetable. The underlying merger agreement, signed Feb. 27, 2026, carries a $7 million daily ticking fee, meaning a daily payment for delay, on Paramount starting Sept. 30, 2026.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the proposed settlement on Sept. 21. His office said it resolves antitrust concerns and protects the livelihoods of the Hollywood labour force California Attorney General's Office.
Paramount has framed the opposition as narrow. The company said the lawsuit was brought by just 12 of 50 state attorneys general, and said on Aug. 14 that it had secured clearances in nearly 70 countries worldwide Paramount.
The states had earlier won a short pause. Judge Martínez-Olguín granted a 14-day restraining order, meaning a brief court-ordered halt, after hearing argument in July Variety.
For viewers, nothing changes yet. The merger cannot close while the court process continues to be scrutinised, and the next step is paper, not a premiere: replies due Monday, then the judge's decision.
