Signers pledge support for state AG’s and others to investigate and block the transaction

Washington, D.C. — Today, over 1,000 professionals across the film and television industry released an open letter declaring their opposition to the pending Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The signatories include actors, filmmakers, documentarians, writers, and other professionals. They call out the economic, creative, and societal damage this merger would cause and declare support for action by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, fellow state attorneys general, and others to investigate and block this transaction.

The complete list of signers and the full text of the letter can be found here. Signers include over 75 Academy Award winners and nominees. The full letter is also available at the end of this release.

“We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good,” the letter reads. “The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised. Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement.”

The open letter details the threat this merger and the long trend of consolidation within the media landscape pose to the “sustainability of the entire creative community.” The negative impacts of a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger would be expansive and severe – reducing jobs, threatening the viability of independent businesses within the industry, and severely reducing both competition and creative diversity across the landscape.

The letter will remain open for additional signatories from across the industry. Signatories and the public are also encouraged to sign the #BlocktheMerger petition and share personal stories of how the merger would impact their lives and livelihoods.

As public opinion builds against this merger, Democracy Defenders Fund, the Committee for the First Amendment, Future Film Coalition, the Writers Guild of America, Free Press, the International Documentary Association, the American Economic Liberties Project, Platkin LLP, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and the Center for American Progress will continue to work together to oppose the transaction.

“The future of free media and a strong entertainment industry in America is at stake here,” said Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “This proposed merger would not only harm competition and creativity, it would erode the very bedrock of our democracy. But this is not a done deal – this is a moment to fight. With a groundswell of public opposition at our back, key challenges in our courts, and the action of courageous state attorneys general, we can block this merger.”

“A Warner Bros. Discovery–Paramount merger would be one of the most destructive threats to free speech and creative expression in our history,” said Jane Fonda, founder of the modern Committee for the First Amendment. “This deal would place unprecedented power in the hands of a single corporation that already appears to have proven itself willing to sacrifice integrity for political favor. The Committee refuses to stand by, as big media corporations serve their own interests at the expense of industry workers and American consumers. We will use every tool available to block this merger.”

“This merger is part of a broader pattern of cumulative concentration that is reshaping the industry and has consequences far beyond Hollywood,” said Jax Deluca, Executive Director of the Future Film Coalition. “The film industry is a national ecosystem made up of independent businesses, freelancers, theaters, and creative workers in every state whose livelihoods depend on a healthy, competitive marketplace. Continued consolidation reduces competition, limits access to financing and distribution, and constrains opportunity across the entire film and media supply chain.”

“It’s simple—a combined Warner Brothers and Paramount would be disastrous for this industry,” said Michele Mulroney, President of the Writers Guild of America West. “The resulting media behemoth would have tremendous leverage to reduce the diversity and volume of programming and raise prices for consumers, while suppressing writer compensation and worsening working conditions across the industry.  This merger must be blocked.”

“The creative community understands firsthand the dangers of more media consolidation and the threat Paramount Skydance poses to film production, newsrooms and thousands of workers,” said Jessica J. González, Co-CEO of Free Press. “This deal undermines free expression and trustworthy journalism — the very foundations of our democracy. We've beat back mega media mergers before and we know we need a broad movement to stop this deal. We’re so grateful that so many in Hollywood are speaking out.”

"This merger threatens documentary filmmakers on every front," said Dominic Asmall Willsdon, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association. "It would absorb HBO Max — one of the most vital platforms for nonfiction film — into a corporation with little incentive to protect it, consolidate the broadcast archives that documentary makers depend on to tell accurate stories of the past, and concentrate editorial power in ways that will determine which American stories get told."

“Consolidation in Hollywood has been a disaster and has led to the weak state of the industry. If we want to continue to even have a TV or film industry, this merger needs to be blocked,” said Matt Stoller of the American Economic Liberties Project.

"This merger, if approved, would reduce competition, eliminate jobs, and increase costs for American consumers as they grapple with an affordability crisis,” said Matt Platkin, former New Jersey attorney general and founding partner of Platkin LLP. “Perhaps more alarmingly, it raises serious concerns about the rule of law and corruption in our government's regulatory processes. I am proud to stand with the many brave signatories to this letter and am grateful for the state Attorneys General and their offices as they closely scrutinize this horrible deal.”

“We commend the film and television communities for their courage in speaking truth to power, and we hope that members of the press will follow their lead. It’s been widely reported that the current administration is steering this transaction to its political allies, the Ellisons, to further suppress free expression and control the public discourse. There’s nothing biased or partisan about standing up for the First Amendment and the public’s right to know,” said Seth Stern, Chief of Advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation.

“Not only would this merger result in higher costs, job losses, and fewer entertainment choices for Americans, it would gravely threaten the freedom of the press by putting CNN and CBS News under the control of Donald Trump’s allies, said Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress. “A single corporation with so much control over the media that is also at the beck and call of the Trump administration is a danger to our democracy.”

Open Letter Opposing the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

As filmmakers, documentarians, writers, and professionals across the movie and television industry, we write to express our unequivocal opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it. The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.

Our industry is already under severe strain, in large part due to prior waves of consolidation. We have witnessed a steep decline in the number of films produced and released, alongside a narrowing of the kinds of stories that are financed and distributed. Increasingly, a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made—and on what terms—leaving creators and independent businesses with fewer viable paths to sustain their work.

Media consolidation has accelerated the disappearance of the mid-budget film, the erosion of independent distribution, the collapse of the international sales market, the elimination of meaningful profit participation, and the weakening of screen credit integrity.

Together, these factors threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community. That includes endangering the professional lives of the tens of thousands of workers who help make up that community in predominantly small businesses and independent companies embedded in local economies and communities nationwide.

We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good. The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised.

Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement. Media consolidation has already weakened one of America’s most vital global industries—one that has long shaped culture and connected people around the world.

Fortunately, someone is doing something about all this. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his colleagues in other states are reportedly scrutinizing the merger and considering legal action to block it. We are grateful for their leadership, and stand ready to support all efforts to preserve competition, protect jobs, and ensure a vibrant future for our industry, for American culture, and for our single most significant cultural export.

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