States sue to block Paramount/WBD merger that was approved by Trump admin
States sue to block Paramount/WBD merger that was approved by Trump admin
多州联合起诉，试图阻止特朗普政府批准的派拉蒙与华纳兄弟探索公司合并案
A group of 12 states led by California sued Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery today in an attempt to block a $111 billion merger that was greenlit by the Trump administration last month. 以加利福尼亚州为首的 12 个州今日对派拉蒙天空之舞（Paramount Skydance）和华纳兄弟探索公司（Warner Bros. Discovery）提起诉讼，试图阻止一项价值 1110 亿美元的合并案，该合并案于上个月获得了特朗普政府的批准。
“The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the US,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. 加州总检察长罗伯·邦塔（Rob Bonta）表示：“这两家娱乐巨头的非法合并将导致电影和电视价格上涨、质量下降以及内容减少，从而损害电影院、基础有线电视分销商的利益，并最终伤害到美国每一张沙发和电影院座位上的观众。”
The merger would combine two of the largest movie studios and merge streaming service Paramount+ with HBO Max. Netflix previously had a deal to buy WBD’s streaming and movie studios businesses, but Paramount succeeded in a hostile takeover bid helped along by support from the Trump administration. 此次合并将整合两家最大的电影制片厂，并将流媒体服务 Paramount+ 与 HBO Max 合并。Netflix 此前曾达成协议收购 WBD 的流媒体和电影制片业务，但派拉蒙在特朗普政府的支持下，通过敌意收购竞标成功。
The states trying to block the deal “asked Warner Bros. and Paramount not to close the merger until after the judicial process concludes, and if they do not agree, the coalition will be filing [a motion for] a temporary restraining order,” Bonta’s announcement of the lawsuit said. 邦塔在诉讼公告中称，试图阻止该交易的各州“已要求华纳兄弟和派拉蒙在司法程序结束前不要完成合并；如果他们不同意，该联盟将申请临时限制令”。
Paramount gets help from Trump admin
派拉蒙获得特朗普政府助力
A Semafor report yesterday said that Paramount is considering moving its corporate headquarters out of California in response to the state’s efforts to block the merger. Today’s lawsuit was filed by Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington. The case is in US District Court for the Northern District of California. 据 Semafor 昨日报道，派拉蒙正在考虑将公司总部迁出加州，以应对该州阻止合并的举措。今日的诉讼由亚利桑那州、加利福尼亚州、科罗拉多州、康涅狄格州、马萨诸塞州、明尼苏达州、内华达州、新泽西州、新墨西哥州、纽约州、俄勒冈州和华盛顿州联合提起。案件目前在美国加利福尼亚北区联邦地区法院审理。
The US Justice Department approved the merger on June 12, saying it determined it will not harm competition or American consumers. The approval reportedly surprised DOJ staff lawyers who led the agency’s investigation into the deal and were leaning toward recommending a lawsuit to block it. 美国司法部于 6 月 12 日批准了该合并案，称其认定该交易不会损害竞争或美国消费者。据报道，这一批准令司法部负责调查该交易的律师感到惊讶，他们此前倾向于建议提起诉讼以阻止合并。
Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly told Trump administration officials that he would make big changes at the Warner-owned CNN, a longtime target of President Trump’s wrath. 据报道，派拉蒙首席执行官大卫·埃里森（David Ellison）曾向特朗普政府官员表示，他将对华纳旗下的 CNN 进行重大改革，而 CNN 长期以来一直是特朗普总统抨击的目标。
Paramount previously won US approval to buy Skydance after agreeing to install what Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr called a “bias monitor” at CBS. Paramount last year also reached a $16 million settlement with Trump over his claim that 60 Minutes deceptively edited a Kamala Harris interview, despite CBS releasing transcripts and camera feeds that showed Trump’s claim was baseless. The settlement was widely seen as a quid pro quo, although both Paramount and the FCC denied the settlement and merger approval were connected. 派拉蒙此前在同意于 CBS 安装联邦通信委员会主席布伦丹·卡尔（Brendan Carr）所称的“偏见监测器”后，获得了美国对其收购天空之舞的批准。去年，派拉蒙还与特朗普就其关于《60 分钟》节目“欺骗性剪辑”卡玛拉·哈里斯采访的指控达成了 1600 万美元的和解，尽管 CBS 公布的文字记录和摄像资料显示特朗普的指控毫无根据。这一和解被广泛视为一种利益交换，尽管派拉蒙和联邦通信委员会均否认和解与合并批准之间存在关联。
30-movie promise called an “empty commitment”
“每年 30 部电影”的承诺被指为“空头支票”
In today’s lawsuit, states alleged that the deal violates the Clayton Act prohibition on mergers in which “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.” The states say the merger is anticompetitive in the markets for theatrical film releases and licensing of basic cable channels. 在今日的诉讼中，各州指控该交易违反了《克莱顿法案》中关于“收购效果可能实质性削弱竞争或倾向于形成垄断”的合并禁令。各州表示，此次合并在院线电影发行和基础有线电视频道授权市场中具有反竞争性。
“The merger combines two of the nation’s five major film distributors, leaving only four to control over 85 percent of all wide-release theatrical films in the United States,” the lawsuit said. “It combines two of the five major owners of basic cable channels, leaving only two (the combined company and Disney) to control 59 percent of all basic cable in the United States.” 诉讼称：“此次合并整合了全国五大电影发行商中的两家，仅剩四家公司控制着美国超过 85% 的大规模院线电影。它还合并了五大基础有线电视频道所有者中的两家，仅剩两家（合并后的公司和迪士尼）控制着美国 59% 的基础有线电视业务。”
The states’ lawsuit said the merging companies’ public commitment to release “at least 30 films annually” will not fix the harms caused by the deal. The promise is not legally enforceable and “fails to address the harms to competition in basic cable programming,” the lawsuit said. Warner Bros. previously committed to create 16 theatrical films in 2023 and over 20 in 2024, but ended up releasing only 11 in 2023 and nine in 2024, the lawsuit said. 各州的诉讼指出，合并公司公开承诺“每年至少发行 30 部电影”并不能弥补该交易造成的损害。诉讼称，这一承诺在法律上不可执行，且“未能解决基础有线电视节目竞争受损的问题”。诉讼还提到，华纳兄弟此前曾承诺在 2023 年制作 16 部院线电影，2024 年制作超过 20 部，但最终 2023 年仅发行了 11 部，2024 年仅发行了 9 部。
“Theaters, distributors, and the viewing public should not be forced to rely on Defendants’ empty commitments to protect them from the effects of an unlawful merger. They are better served if Paramount and Warner Bros. continue to compete for their business,” the lawsuit said. 诉讼称：“电影院、分销商和广大观众不应被迫依赖被告的空头承诺来保护自己免受非法合并的影响。如果派拉蒙和华纳兄弟继续竞争，对他们来说才是更好的选择。”
States do the job DOJ “refused to do”
各州在做司法部“拒绝做”的工作
States further alleged that the merger will give Paramount too much control over the market for TV programming, and would be able to use that as leverage in bargaining with distributors: A distributor who rejects the combined company’s fee demands would risk losing, for example, CNN for news viewers, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network for family households, HGTV and Food Network for lifestyle audiences, and TNT and TBS for sports and entertainment viewers. 各州进一步指控，此次合并将使派拉蒙对电视节目市场拥有过大的控制权，并能将其作为与分销商谈判的筹码：任何拒绝合并后公司费用要求的分销商，都将面临失去内容的风险，例如新闻观众所需的 CNN、家庭用户所需的尼克儿童频道（Nickelodeon）和卡通频道（Cartoon Network）、生活方式观众所需的 HGTV 和美食频道（Food Network），以及体育和娱乐观众所需的 TNT 和 TBS。
Faced with this threat, distributors would likely be forced to accept higher fees to distribute basic cable channels than they would absent the proposed merger. Those higher fees will likely be passed on to their subscribers in the form of higher monthly bills. 面对这种威胁，分销商很可能被迫接受比没有此次合并时更高的费用来分销基础有线电视频道。这些更高的费用很可能会以月费上涨的形式转嫁给订阅用户。
John Bergmayer, legal director at advocacy group Public Knowledge, said that “state attorneys general are doing the job the Justice Department refused to do.” He said the merger “would give one company more power over what gets made, what theaters can show, what distributors must pay, and what audiences ultimately see and pay for,” leading to “fewer films, worse terms for theaters, higher ticket prices, higher cable bills, and less investment in programming.” 倡导组织 Public Knowledge 的法律总监约翰·伯格迈尔（John Bergmayer）表示，“州总检察长们正在做司法部拒绝做的工作”。他指出，此次合并“将使一家公司对制作什么、影院能放映什么、分销商必须支付多少费用以及观众最终看到什么并支付什么拥有更大的权力”，从而导致“电影减少、影院条款恶化、票价上涨、有线电视账单增加，以及对节目制作的投资减少”。
We contacted Paramount today and will update this article if it provides a response. Before the lawsuit was filed, Paramount told Deadline: “We continue to engage constructively with the remaining few regulators around the world still considering the merger, including state attorneys general, and are prepared to address any legitimate antitrust issues.” Paramount also said it is “confident this transaction raises no such concerns, as demonstrated by the dozens of antitrust authorities around the world that have carefully reviewed the transaction and either cleared it or concluded…” 我们今日联系了派拉蒙，如果收到回复，我们将更新本文。在诉讼提起前，派拉蒙曾告诉《Deadline》：“我们继续与全球少数仍在审查该合并案的监管机构（包括州总检察长）进行建设性接触，并准备解决任何合理的反垄断问题。”派拉蒙还表示，其“确信该交易不会引起此类担忧，全球数十家反垄断机构已仔细审查了该交易，并已批准或得出结论……”