Judge puts temporary pause on Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

BREAKING NEWSJul. 20, 2026, 5:01 PM UTCMediaMediaJudge puts temporary pause on Paramount-Warner Bros. mergerTwelve state attorneys general requested a temporary restraining order barring Paramount Skydance from closing the blockbuster deal.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Warner Bros. Studios and Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Daniel ArkinParamount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery hit a roadblock Monday after a federal judge temporarily paused the proposed merger, granting a request from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general who sued to thwart the $110 billion deal.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order barring Paramount from closing the transaction, a corporate tie-up that would unite two movie studios, two streaming platforms and two news organizations under the control of David Ellison, the son of billionaire technology tycoon Larry Ellison.Martínez-Olguín’s order said the restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days.The plaintiffs, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued to block the merger on July 13, arguing in a 38-page complaint that it would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood.“The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” Bonta said in a statement accompanying the court filing.Bonta and his fellow Democratic attorneys general contend that the transaction violates Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, a federal law that bars mergers likely to substantially lessen competition.The states argue the deal would reduce competition in three areas: wide-re...