Judge Clears Final Hurdle For Paramount-WBD Merger, And Hollywood Gets A Little Smaller

It’s all over but the crying.

Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has cleared its final legal hurdle, after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved a settlement on Wednesday between Paramount and the 12 state attorneys general who had sued to block the deal. With the AGs no longer opposed, the merger is expected to close October 6.

The states had argued that combining Paramount and WBD would reduce competition in theatrical films and basic cable. Martínez-Olguín apparently agreed there was something to worry about: In July, she found the states had presented a strong enough case to temporarily halt the transaction. But the U.S. Department of Justice had already cleared the acquisition, and now the states have settled.

The agreement includes some concessions, including commitments to release at least 30 theatrical films annually for two years, increase U.S. production spending, and put $47.5 million toward workers affected by the merger.

What it doesn’t do is preserve two competing companies.

For Hollywood workers, that means one fewer major employer. For creators and independent producers, one fewer buyer. For audiences, it means two enormous libraries and production operations controlled by the same corporate owner.

Paramount says the combination will make it more competitive with larger streaming rivals, which is almost certainly true. But it hardly feels worth the cost of further consolidating an industry that has already spent years shrinking.

And apparently nobody is left with both the authority and inclination to stop it.