“The Paramount-WBD merger threatens to inflict deep, structural harm on the United Kingdom's economy and its cultural heritage.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) filed a comment with the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) calling for an in-depth Phase II investigation into the pending Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The merger raises public interest concerns like a threat to free expression and media pluralism that the U.K. Secretary of State needs to investigate.

Written “on behalf of competitive markets for creative and journalistic work, as well as public interest in press freedom, media plurality, and interests,” the in-depth white paper details the broad, international damage to competition and free speech the merger could cause. The consolidation would raise prices for consumers, reduce competition for the U.K.’s creative rights, hurt wages in the industry, limit access to critical news archives used by U.K. journalists and filmmakers, and cut the number of projects that eventually make it to consumers. If approved, “the United Kingdom risks losing the distinctive voices and independent studios that make its film and television industry a crown jewel of its creative economy.”

The concerns mirror those in the U.S., where vocal opposition to the merger from leaders across the film and entertainment industry, independent media, and citizen action groups is growing, urging state attorneys general to take action while federal regulators appear unwilling to investigate the transaction.

Read the comment here.

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.