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Paramount Skydance wins after settlement over Warner Bros merger
The deal will require Paramount to spend at least $300 million more per year on US film production for five years and could trigger $30 million-per-film payments if it misses quota targets.
Paramount Skydance emerged victorious on Sept. 21 in a legal fight tied to its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, after settling with a California-led group of US states and the Writers Guild of America, according to Insurance Journal.
Under the settlement, Paramount agreed to temporary film quotas and to set up a news oversight structure, including a news editorial independence board to support independence at the CBS and CNN networks. The agreement also avoided a forced sale of cable assets such as CNN and other film franchises.
The company also pledged to increase domestic film production, spending at least $300 million more each year in US production, and to follow US theatrical release quotas for five years. Paramount will produce 30 movies in each of the first two years of the deal and 32 in each of the next three years, with at least four independent films per year and at least 20% blockbuster titles.
If Paramount falls below the quota threshold, it would pay $30 million per film, with most of the funds directed into programs to support workers. The outlet reports that Warner Bros Discovery shares jumped more than 10% after the outcome, while Paramount shares gave back some earlier gains, and the WGA said it still believes the merger would harm the industry.