If They Can’t Block This Merger, Can Anyone?

State attorneys general are trying to stop Paramount Skydance from merging with Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s the best shot left at preventing—or at least stalling—what seems inevitable.

Last month, the Department of Justice officially blessed Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), praising the proposed deal for its potential to boost competition “across the media and entertainment ecosystem.” On July 13, a coalition of twelve state attorneys general, including Rob Bonta of California and Letitia James of New York, filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California arguing more or less the opposite. “The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television,” Bonta said in a statement. “Film and television are not commodities,” the lawsuit itself states, adding that “the competitive health of markets” determines “the breadth of voices and viewpoints that reach the public.”