The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has followed a coalition of US states in filing a lawsuit to block the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
In a suit filed jointly by the WGA West and WGA East, the industry unions argue that the merger violates federal antitrust law and would cause harm to writers.
“With fewer competitors, the merged Paramount-Warner Bros entity would have both the incentive and the ability to lower costs by suppressing writers’ wages and reducing output,” the complaint states. “Writers will be paid less and have fewer employment opportunities.”
The WGA filing in the US district court of Northern California comes one day after a coalition of 12 US state attorneys general filed suit in the same court challenging the Paramount-Warner deal and followed up with a request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the deal.
WGA West president Michele Mulroney commented: “If Paramount succeeds in buying Warner Bros, the merged firm will be the largest buyer of original film and television programming in the United States. This would eliminate competition in an already consolidated industry, threatening the livelihoods of entertainment workers and the creative diversity of TV and film. We applaud the dozen state Attorneys General who have stepped up to enforce our antitrust laws and are proud to file suit alongside them.”
WGA East president Tom Fontana added: “The Writers Guild of America will not stand idly by as Paramount attempts to violate our country’s antitrust laws and deepen the contraction entertainment workers already feel. This proposed combined entity would be the largest employer of writers, with tremendous power to suppress our wages, eliminate opportunities for emerging writers, cut jobs across the industry, and produce less programming, effecting the range of storytelling. This merger is not inevitable and we are fighting to stop it.”
In response to the WGA suit, Paramount released a statement saying, in part: “A combined Paramount-WBD will have the scale and resources to reverse the current trends in our industry and expand opportunities for writers, not shrink them: more development slates, more series and film greenlights, and our continued strong commitment to working with the guild’s writers across our brands.”
The state attorneys general motion for a temporary restraining order, and Paramount’s opposition to it, are due to go before a judge in federal court on Friday (July 17). The states are seeking a ruling by July 22, the date before which the European Commission’s competition authority is expected to deliver its own decision on the studio merger.
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