• by Wendy Davis , 8 hours ago

One day after 12 states sued to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., the Writers Guild of America filed a separate lawsuit challenging the deal.

"If Paramount succeeds in buying Warner Bros., the merged firm will be the largest buyer of original film and television programming in the United States, eliminating vigorous competition from a major film and television studio that has operated for more than a century," the East and West divisions of the Writers Guild allege in an antitrust complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

"With fewer competitors, the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. entity would have both the incentive and the ability to lower costs by suppressing writers’ wages and reducing output," the union alleges. "Writers will be paid less and have fewer employment opportunities."

The organization adds that combining Paramount+ with HBO Max will likely result in fewer television programs.

"A merged service will require less programming to serve the same subscriber base, eliminating the competitive pressure that currently drives volume," the complaint alleges.

The union claims the deal will harm competition in several markets, including one for writing services for anticipated blockbusters (films with budgets of at least $100 million), and one for writing services for 30- and 60-minute television programs.

"A screenwriter providing writing services for anticipated top grossing films relies on the credible ability to walk away and take their services to a competing film studio," the union writes. "Further consolidation among film studios producing anticipated top grossing films erodes that leverage."

The complaint includes similar assertions with regard to writers for television programs.

Relatedly, a California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general, which also seeks to block the deal, late Monday sought a temporary restraining order that would prevent Paramount from closing the merger for at least 14 days.

The attorneys general said in their request that the deal could close as soon as July 22, unless blocked.

Paramount said this week that the states' lawsuit "distorts settled antitrust law and is based on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry today."

The company added that it will "vigorously defend the transaction and demonstrate that this challenge is inconsistent with sound competition policy and the competitive realities of the media marketplace."