- A federal judge ordered Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery to halt their $111 billion merger, granting a temporary restraining order.
- The temporary order lasts 14 days but can be extended into a preliminary injunction blocking the merger until the case is resolved.
- A group of 12 states, led by California, sued to block the deal, arguing it would eliminate competition among major Hollywood studios and cable TV channels.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the emergency order a critical first win against the unlawful merger.
- Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that the states made a strong showing the merger would substantially lessen competition in the theatrical-film market.
- The merged company would hold a 27% share of the wide-release theatrical distribution market, close to the 30% threshold presumed to violate antitrust law.