Article in Raw Story by Matthew Chapman, 8/11/26
Headline: ” ‘Be prepared’: MAGA-friendly media giant warned over sketchy merger”
“Democrats are gearing up to grill Paramount Skydance over its blockbuster $110 billion bid to swallow Warner Bros. Discovery — a merger that would put CNN under the thumb of the same MAGA-friendly executive who has overseen the controversial hollowing out of CBS. . .”
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Article in The Wrap by A. J. Katz, 8/10/26
Headline: “Where the Media Business Is Going”
Subhead: “In this week’s installment of The Media Front, we unpack what happens next as the streaming wars end and AI rises in newsrooms across the country”
“. . .For much of the past decade, Hollywood’s biggest media companies were chasing versions of the same goal: Build a streaming service, add subscribers and reach enough scale to compete with Netflix.
“This week’s earnings season offered perhaps the clearest evidence yet that the industry has moved on. . .”
“What the industry no longer agrees on is what comes next. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/future-of-media-business-streaming-ai-news/
Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 7/8/26
Headline: “FCC scraps limit on local TV ownership in win for media conglomerates”
Subhead: “The 2-1 vote along party lines repealed ‘national cap’ that served as a key check on consolidation of the TV industry”
“In a historic vote on Thursday morning, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted along party lines to overturn a key check against the consolidation of the television industry, throwing out a rule that prevented any one company from owning stations that collectively reach more than 39% of all US TV households.
“The vote is a win for television conglomerates that aim to expand their reach across the country, particularly conservative-leaning companies like Sinclair Broadcast Group and Nexstar. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/aug/06/fcc-overturns-limit-local-tv-ownership
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Article in Common Dreams by Timothy Karr, 8/6/26
Headline: “Free Press Plans to Take Carr to Court in Response to Thursday’s Unlawful Decision to Eliminate a Vital Limit on Media Consolidation”
“. . .Free Press and allies plan to appeal this unlawful decision in court.
“Congress enshrined the national ownership cap in federal law; it prohibits a single company from owning TV stations that reach more than 39 percent of the national broadcast audience. The FCC does not have the power to get rid of this limit, but Chairman Brendan Carr decided to move ahead. . .”
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Article in The New York Times by Michelle Goldberg, 7/27/26
Headline: “A Setback for the MAGA Media Takeover”
“. . .Historically, it’s unusual for the states to take the lead on antitrust enforcement actions,” reported Variety. But the case was strong enough that last week, a California judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the merger on hold. And on Friday, Paramount, which had hoped to close the deal this month, agreed to postpone the merger until next June or the end of the trial, whichever comes first. . .”
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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/opinion/media-ellison-paramount.html
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Article in The Wrap by Roger Cheng & Lucas Manfredi, 7/24/25
Headline: “Why Paramount Delayed Its Warner Bros. Takeover, What the Latest Legal Twist Means | Analysis”
Subhead: “With a costly ticking fee looming, Paramount is banking on a speedy trial”
“It looked like a victory on Friday for opponents of Paramount’s $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount agreed to push back the acquisition — all the way to as far as next summer.
But, as with everything in this M&A saga, it’s not that simple. . .”
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https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/deals-ma/paramount-warner-bros-merger-delay-explained/
Article in Reuters by Brody Godoy, 7/24/26
Headline: “Paramount agrees to pause Warner Bros deal while case plays out”
“. . .on Friday agreed to pause its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until after a ruling on a challenge by states to the deal, plunging the $110 billion deal into further uncertainty. . .”
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Article in Alternet America by Ryan Rose and Alternet America, 7/23/26
Headline: “We Have 11 Days Until the Free Press Shrinks”
“They don’t call it censorship. They call it a merger.
“Twelve state attorneys general just sued to block Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. They say the deal would gut competition, raise prices, and shrink an already hollowed-out industry. A federal judge agreed enough to pump the brakes by issuing a 14-day restraining order.
“Three of those days are already gone.It’s not censorship when it’s a merger. That’s the whole trick. . .”
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Article in The Wrap by Benjamin Lindsay, 7/23/26
Headline: “Paramount-WBD Deal Delayed Again as Judge Extends Restraining Order by 2 Weeks”
Subhead: “With Thursday’s ruling, the earliest David Ellison’s deal for Warner Bros. Discovery can close is Aug. 17″
“The Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger was delayed further on Thursday after a federal judge extended the temporary restraining order pausing the deal by an additional two weeks, pushing the earliest date David Ellison could close the $110 billion deal to Aug. 17. . .”
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Article in UPI by Joe Fisher, 7/20/26
Headline: “Judge temporarily halts Paramount, Warner Bros. merger”
Twelve state attorneys general won a court order on Monday to halt Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. for at least 14 days.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in the Northern District of California granted a temporary restraining order to a coalition of 12 states, including New York and California, in their lawsuit to block Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 3. . .”
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Article in The Wrap by Lucas Manfredi, 7/17/26
Headline: “Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger: Judge Will Rule on Temporary Restraining Order by Wednesday”
Subhead: “State AGs argued the $110 billion deal would give the combined company more leverage over movie theaters and cable distributors, increase consumer prices and reduce content output”
_”Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín will decide on whether to issue a temporary restraining order against the pending $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger by July 22.
The update comes after lawyers for a group of 12 state attorneys general, Paramount and WBD made their arguments during a Friday court hearing.
The state AGs sued to blocked the merger on Monday, arguing it would create an entertainment giant. . .”
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Article in The Guardian by Jeremy Barr, 7/17/26
Headline: ” ‘Laws were broken’: multistate effort to stop Paramount’s $111bn merger heads to court”
Subhead: “Attorneys general from 12 states are suing to block the Paramount-Warner Bros deal they say violates antitrust law”
“A last-ditch effort to block the merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is heading to court as 12 Democratic state attorneys general attempt to stop the $111bn deal they say violates antitrust law and reduces competition in both the film and cable television industries.
“The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, faces a crucial hearing on Friday to determine if a judge will temporarily pause the deal or allow it to continue toward approval. . .”
Read the full article at:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/17/paramount-warner-bros-merger
Article in CNN Business by Brian Stelter, 7/15/26\
Headline: “FCC moves to deliver long-sought win for Trump-aligned broadcasters”
“The Federal Communications Commission is changing its rules so that local TV station owners can get much, much bigger. . .”
“Carr announced on Wednesday that the FCC will vote next month to repeal its national broadcast ownership rule, which prohibits a single company from reaching more than 39% of US TV households.
Read the full article at:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/media/fcc-carr-trump-broadcasters-sinclair-nexstar