The Block the Merger coalition is ramping up the pressure against Paramount with plans to launch billboards in New York City and California calling for $110 billion deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to be blocked.
The billboards, which are paid for by the More Perfect Union Foundation, are aimed at educating the public about the negative effects of the merger, a press release reads.
“We need the American public to speak out against the oligarchs seeking to take even more control over our media platforms,” More Perfect Union Foundation Executive Director Faiz Shakir said in a statement. “After Trump caved to the Ellison family and compelled the Department of Justice to approve the merger, the last line of defense left is our nation’s courageous Attorneys General. They need to know that the public wants them to take action and block the merger.”
The effort comes after the coalition launched a petition last month calling on 12 state attorneys general to “hold strong” in their antitrust lawsuit against the deal. Separately, over 5,000 Hollywood voices, including Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller and Pedro Pascal, have expressed their concern and opposition to the merger.
The coalition also held a rally in front of Paramount earlier this month, which included speeches from writer, actress and Committee for the First Amendment member Elyssa Phillips and Burbank city councilmembers Konstantine Anthony and Nikki Perez, who warned that the merger would lead to fewer entertainment options for the public and fewer employment opportunities for those in the industry.
An economic analysis ordered by Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors found that nearly 4,500 local film and TV jobs, 2,661 indirect jobs at small businesses that support productions and 3,204 induced jobs that exist because film and TV workers spend money in the local economy — including restaurants, retailers and service providers — could be put a risk if the deal closes.
The 12-day antitrust trial over the merger is slated to begin in March. Paramount has agreed to delay the closing of the merger until five days after the outcome of a trial, or June 1, 2027, whichever is earliest. As part of the standard course of the legal proceeding, two sides have also been ordered to hold a settlement conference at the end of October as an effort to avoid a trial.
In addition to calling for a settlement, David Ellison has previously threatened to move Paramount’s operations out of California if a resolution can’t be reached by Oct. 1, when it will be on the hook for a 25 cents per share ticking fee, which translates to $650 million per quarter or $7 million per day, until the deal is closed.
A leaked report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation found that following through on that threat could result in the loss of up to $21.2 billion in annual economic output, 57,980 full-time jobs and $1.17 billion in state and local tax revenues.
Paramount has requested that the states and WGA post a $1.9 billion bond to cover the ticking fee and other financing costs during the delay. A judge will make a decision on whether to impose the bond during a hearing on Sept. 24.
If the merger does not close at all due to regulatory matters, Paramount would be on the hook to pay WBD a $ 7 billion termination fee. The final deadline for the deal to close is June 4, 2027.
