PARAMOUNT GETS APPROVAL TO BUY WARNER CNN.

The $111 billion megadeal can proceed with guardrails on domestic film production, cable channels, news outlets and studio lots in Los Angeles — but not any divestitures of assets unless it fails at commitments.

After all of that sound and fury, that’s it? “I don’t think these two companies should merge,” said California attorney general Rob Bonta in unveiling a settlement with David Ellison to allow the mogul to do just that with Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount’s C-suite must have been popping bottles of champagne as the press office engines of the major studio and 12 state attorney generals typed up the settlement term boilerplate language of what ended up being a stern finger-wave to Ellison’s team.

When Bonta held his presser on Monday he made a point to note multiple times that he personally was not in favor of the merger while rattling off that Paramount would invest $1.5 billion in domestic production over five years, Paramount and Warner Bros. need to keep their studio lots as is in Los Angeles and CBS News and CNN would have independent editorial boards.

Additionally, the Paramount and Warners cable channels (think: Comedy Central-MTV-BET-Nick and HGTV-Food Network-TNT-Discovery, respectively) will have to negotiate affiliate agreements separately. The studios also need to invest $9.5 million a year in workforce training and career development in film and TV production communities. And the megastudio will start a $5 million annual fund to bankroll indie movies. (Not to mention Paramount will also pay $40 million to reimburse the 12 states who sued it for attorneys’ and economic expert fees.)

A five-year commitment for 30 films does up the three-year pledge Ellison had earlier signed on to. And if the studios fail to meet that threshold, they would be hit with a $30 million penalty per film. Bonta says that $1.5 billion figure represents $300 million more annually than the combined studios spent last year.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-warner-bros-states-1236706935/