This is the second of my two pieces today about the proposed Warnermount (read the first here), a frighteningly smart and insightful conversation (and transcript) between me and monopoly expert Matt Stoller of the BIG newsletter.
With the news yesterday that Paramount Skydance is preparing to make an offer, backed by Larry Ellison’s deep pockets, to acquire Warner Bros. reverberating through the industry, I fired up an emergency Substack Live with Matt Stoller, the writer and former policymaker who focuses on the politics of market power and antitrust in his newsletter, BIG. During our blistering conversation, we discussed why Warnermount could spell actual doom for the industry and why, in Matt’s words, “this whole environment is insane.”
Watch the video of our discussion above and read the full transcript below, only for paid subscribers, which includes:
Why dropping from five major studios to four isn’t just bad optics — it’s the textbook definition of an illegal monopoly under U.S. merger guidelines
How Larry Ellison’s billions, Trump-world fixers and lobbying are fueling Warnermount’s “insane” path to approval through the DOJ and FTC
The real cost of consolidation: fewer buyers for films, less leverage for writers and crews, and the creeping “chickenization” of Hollywood labor
The overlooked wild card: California AG Rob Bonta, who actually has the power to drag the Ellisons and John Malone into court
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s expected role
What discovery could uncover if the deal is challenged — Malone’s inbox, Ellison family Signal chats, and the sausage-making behind the deal
And why Hollywood has to shake off the defeatism: no fight is over unless the industry decides to roll over
