From Richard:
Two weeks ago, as news broke that Paramount Skydance had its sights on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, I all but screamed: Is anyone awake out there? Will anyone fight back as the number of our studios continues to shrink — potentially taking jobs, competition and livelihoods away?
Today, it’s clear: The answer is yes.
“The events of the last couple of weeks have made people who don’t even think about mergers or consolidation in your industry kind of sit up and think, ‘Oh, you know, there are real consequences here,’ not just for people in the industry, but for our country and our democracy,” former FTC Chair Lina Khan said during our special town hall yesterday, alluding to both the incidents around Jimmy Kimmel but also the Paramount-Skydance merger.
Our hour-long roundtable featured not just the esteemed Khan, the FTC chair under President Joe Biden, whom I interviewed before. Also present was former FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, who refused to accept when Trump fired him from the federal agency earlier this year and later resigned. My co-host Matt Stoller is a writer and former policymaker who focuses on the politics of market power and antitrust in his newsletter, BIG.
Among the topics discussed and at stake:
Labor-market harm. Fewer studios = fewer bidders for writers, actors, craftspeople, journalists, etc. That reduction in competition is precisely the kind of thing antitrust law covers (under both federal and often tougher state laws — the specifics were covered here).
News deterioration. Further consolidation shrinks the number of gatekeepers and makes pressure and censorship easier. The panelists raised the alarm about moving from presently what are five major TV news sources to four if CNN and CBS end up under one banner.
Creativity & output likely fall. Mergers in concentrated industries almost always reduce output and variety. We discussed how Disney’s acquisition of Fox is a recent Hollywood example where theatrical output dramatically fell afterward, with many considering Fox a “zombie studio” these days.
Tech-conglomerate dynamics. Cross-subsidies (cloud, devices, retail, subscriptions) and leverage points (e.g., access to AI or cloud) let the biggest players undercut standalone studios and impose conditions unrelated to the content market to further their larger goals. Thank god for the money they pour into the market, but if you think Apple, Amazon and the Ellisons cornering Hollywood is good for the business….
States can act even if the Trump administration won’t. State attorneys general (notably California AG Rob Bonta, but any AG in any state) can independently sue to block any kind of proposed merger. They’re elected — not appointed — and responsive to constituents’ stories.
“This is a big deal, not just for Hollywood, not just for the entertainment industry, but for the country as a whole — it should not just be people in Hollywood who care,” Bedoya said of the potential Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. “It’s so important for [people] to be loud about it, to be loud about the effects this is going to have on you, your life, your family.”
Indeed, the panelists agreed that the possibility of the merger is highly challengeable, pointing to the community action that blocked the merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster in 2022 as proof that victory is possible. (Matt noted that Simon & Schuster is thriving under its current ownership by KKR.)
Bedoya added, “The folks on this call are very good communicators. They can be very persuasive. Some of you might be writers, some of you might be actors, some of you might be directors, producers, you name it. Go online on social media and tell your story about how the last couple of mergers affected you and why you think this one is so harmful.”
Bedoya suggested tagging officials directly, especially California AG Bonta (@AGRobBonta on X; @agrobbonta on Instagram), as state AGs have independent authority to challenge mergers (a “viable path here,” in the words of Khan).
“People in these positions of authority and their staff pay attention to these things,” Bedoya said of public pressure campaigns, where elected officials respond with grease to squeaky wheels.
Boots on the ground make a difference — boots activated in the wake of the Kimmel fiasco I’ve covered extensively.
“Storytellers, you have just really… a unique ability to tell a public story here. And so really leaning into that, I think, could be quite effective,” Khan said.
“I always say this old Simpsons joke: ‘We’ve tried nothing and we’re out of ideas.’ There hasn’t been an aggressive attempt to say, ‘No, stop this merger,’” Matt said, noting he’s cautiously optimistic that we’re at a tipping point.
“There is a broad anger and dissatisfaction in the public… and that reflects a deep rage that something isn’t right,” he added. “What we’ve seen across the country in most industries is a feeling of a loss of control. And that’s fundamentally what is happening here… I don’t want to say the stars are aligned for something perfect here, but I wouldn’t be spending my time on this if I didn’t think that it was worth trying to do something about it.”
The panel called on the unions — WGA, SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE — to activate through formal statements and participation; they can convert stories into antitrust-ready filings, and to invite AGs (even virtually) to a town hall to hear from talent and below-the-line workers. (Bedoya offered to participate in an L.A. roundtable in late Oct.)
And hey, writers — think about op-eds, social campaigns, press briefings.
This is an important conversation in a week of important conversations. Please watch above and read the full transcript below for more guidance on how to organize and get going.
