California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta called out the federal government for largely vacating its role as antitrust regulator, saying it’s now up to California and other states to look out for consumers’ interests.
Bonta, the state’s top law enforcement officer, spoke Thursday at a Capitol Forum conference in Beverly Hills on antitrust issues and the future of Hollywood. His appearance came just days after the U.S. Department of Justice settled its case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster a week into a high-stakes trial, leaving state attorneys general to try to continue to fight that battle on their own.
The Justice Department’s about-face revealed a major fracture in antitrust enforcement. State attorneys general — particularly in Democratic-controlled states — say their role is becoming increasingly important to challenge alleged anti-competitive behavior.
President Trump has “abdicated the federal administration’s responsibilities to hold big corporations accountable to the law and protect a competitive marketplace,” Bonta said.
Bonta’s appearance comes as another major Hollywood merger appears to be sailing through its federal review with Trump’s tacit approval: Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110-billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The merger, announced late last month, has rattled Hollywood unions and some antitrust experts. It would combine legendary film studios, robust television production units and two prominent news organizations, CBS News and CNN, as well as dozens of cable channels.
“Paramount and Warner Bros. haven’t cleared regulatory scrutiny,” Bonta said. “My office has an open investigation into [the deal] and we intend to be vigorous in our review.”
California could bring its own lawsuit to block Paramount’s takeover, or join with other state attorneys general to launch legal proceedings to try thwart the deal or extract concessions — even if the Justice Department ultimately clears David Ellison’s deal.
Bonta outlined various concerns, including a continued contraction of Hollywood’s labor market, the consolidation of streaming services — Paramount+, HBO Max, Pluto and Discovery+ — and potentially higher prices and lower wages.
“There’s no industry as iconically California as the entertainment industry,” Bonta said. “It’s baked into California’s DNA.”
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta vowed to drill into Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
(Paul Kuroda / For The Times)
Paramount filed for Justice Department approval in December.
The maneuver started the regulatory review clock. And last month a key deadline for the Justice Department to raise concerns about Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner passed without comment from Washington.
Paramount has said it could finalize its deal by the end of September.
The architect of Paramount’s strategy, Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim, delivered his own keynote address, saying the Ellison family’s acquisition of Warner Bros. would not reduce competition and instead would be “a huge win for the creative community.”
“Paramount’s transaction with Warner is an opportunity to expand output, to grow the number of movies, shows and other content we are offering to the consumer,” Delrahim said, adding that will result in “more job opportunities,” including in Southern California, which is reeling from a production flight to other states and countries.
Delrahim conceded that Paramount was driven to buy Warner Bros. — it prevailed after Netflix bowed out — because Paramount is not big enough to compete in an industry dominated by technology giants.
He criticized the proposed Netflix deal, saying he doubted it would have passed regulatory muster due to Netflix’s strength in the streaming market.
Paramount still needs to win the support of Warner shareholders, and also gain regulatory approvals from the Justice Department, state attorney generals and overseas governments.
“This deal is a big win for Los Angeles, for California and for all communities that embrace filmmaking,” Delrahim said.
Tech mogul Larry Ellison has personally guaranteed the $45.7 billion in equity needed for the transaction. The company would have to take on more than $60 billion in debt — raising concerns among Hollywood workers about large-scale cost cuts and layoffs.
“Paramount is investing $110 billion to take out a rival,” said attorney Ethan E. Litwin, a former lawyer for TV networks, who also spoke at the conference. “When you take out a major rival in a highly concentrated industry … you are taking out competitors for projects. “
Bonta declined to say whether he would try to stop the Paramount-Warner merger.
Progressive State Leaders Committee, an affiliate of the Democratic Attorneys General Assn., in December hired Rohit Chopra, a former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and former commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, as a senior advisor. He will help coordinate efforts as the group, including Bonta, wages antitrust enforcement battles.
“The federal government is just not enforcing the law,” Chopra said during Thursday’s conference. “Our states are really the last line of defense.”
