Paramount-Warner merger: the British government threatens to intervene

While the $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery has already been validated in several countries, the British government could well slow down the process.

While the operation seemed to be on track, it could now come up against the British authorities…

British Culture Minister Lisa Nandy has announced that she is officially considering intervening in the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger, saying the tie-up raises questions of media pluralism in the United Kingdom.

In the event of a merger, many major channels and platforms would come under the same ownership, including Channel 5, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, CNN International, Paramount+, TNT Sports and HBO Max. The government fears that such concentration will reduce the diversity of information and audiovisual players.

“After engaging with parties and carrying out independent research, my Department has today written to the current and future owners of Warner Bros. Discovery to inform them that I am considering intervention. We want to act for a sufficient plurality of views in the news media in the UK, but also a sufficient plurality of those controlling the media companies and on-demand programming services aimed at British audiences.“

For Lisa Nandy, public interest rules must now better take into account the growth of streaming and video on demand: “I think that this aspect must be taken into consideration for this operation, but also for all future mergers in the media, given the place that on-demand viewing now occupies in the market.”

Both groups have until July 6 to submit their comments. If Lisa Nandy decides to go further, the file will be sent to the British regulator Ofcom as well as the Competition Authority (CMA), who will carry out a thorough investigation before a possible final decision.

This intervention would be one of the last obstacles for this mega-merger of 110 billion dollars, already approved by the American authorities as well as by regulators of China, Australia, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia. The European Union is also expected to give the green light, subject to some concessions from both groups.