The Writers Guild of America has officially entered the ring in the fight to block Paramount Skydance’s pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The guild’s lawsuit, filed jointly by the WGA East and West in the Northern District of California on Tuesday, seeks to stop the merger on the grounds that it violates federal antitrust law and would cause specific harm to writers. The complaint lays out how the merger would reduce opportunities for writers as well as lead to lower pay and worse working conditions.
“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. Writers will be paid less and have fewer employment opportunities,” the WGA complaint states.
This development should come as no surprise, given that the writers guild has been critical of any sale of WBD since Netflix first showed interest last year. This new lawsuit comes one day after a dozen state attorneys general sued to block the merger on Monday — a move that was swiftly praised by the WGA. The guild had been working closely with the state attorneys general offices and other federal legislators to sound the alarm on its concerns.
Reached for comment by Deadline on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Paramount Skydance said in a statement: “A stronger Hollywood only means something if it’s stronger for the writers who power it. 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.
“Our clear incentives and pledge to release at least 30 movies a year, with full 45-day windows, continue commissioning from independent production companies, and maintain two distinct film studios reflects our commitment to preserving and boosting creative competition. Combined with our commitment to preserve our iconic brands under independent creative leadership, this will mean more jobs, more writers’ rooms, more staffed positions, and more sustained work across film and television — not less.”
The statement concluded with: “As a century-old storytelling company, we have deep respect for the WGA and its members, as evidenced by our commitments in our recently renewed collective bargaining agreement, and we remain committed to building a combined company that expands opportunities for writers and creative talent for generations to come. The alternative to our transaction is a continued decline of the entertainment industry increasingly dominated by big tech companies.”
The union’s legal salvo is the latest twist in the long-running saga of Paramount looking to grow much larger under CEO David Ellison. The company outdueled Netflix earlier this year, clinching the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, but the size of it (at $110 billion in debt and equity, one of the largest in corporate history) and the potential impact on the creative community have motivated a lot of opponents. Mark Ruffalo is one of several A-listers to sign a petition against the merger that now has more than 5,000 shares.
Paramount has described the state AG suit as being based on a misunderstanding of antitrust case law. The company says its true competitive market includes tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Netflix, and should not be defined as just Hollywood studios.
It is notable that the guild opted to file its own lawsuit, rather than join the states. This is likely because the WGA complaint focuses more directly on the labor impacts that the proposed sale will have on writing services provided by guild members.
The WGA is represented in this lawsuit by Shinder Cantor Lerner LLP, Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP, and Platkin LLP.
Dade Hayes and Ted Johnson contributed to this report.
