Justice Department approves Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion Warner Bros. deal

The Justice Department gave Paramount Skydance the biggest federal lift yet for its $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, concluding that the deal is not likely to harm competition or American consumers. The Antitrust Division said its eight-month review found no likely harm to streaming, linear television or theatrical film production and distribution, clearing the path for a transaction that could reshape what Americans watch, read and hear.

If completed, the merger would combine Paramount’s CBS, Paramount Pictures and Comedy Central with Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max, Warner Bros. film studio and CNN. That would create one of Hollywood’s largest media companies and concentrate even more power in a business already dominated by a handful of firms that control major streaming services, cable channels and film pipelines. For viewers, that could mean fewer independent rivals in streaming; for newsroom staffs and creative workers, it could mean a tighter corporate grip on budgets, greenlights and job security.

The approval does not close the deal. State attorneys general can still challenge it, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta is weighing a lawsuit, according to people familiar with the matter. Regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom are still reviewing the transaction as well, leaving Paramount Skydance exposed to additional legal and regulatory hurdles even after clearing Washington. The federal sign-off may also give Paramount a political and legal advantage if state officials or private plaintiffs try to block the merger in court.

The fight over Warner Bros. Discovery began in December 2025, when Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid after a competing Netflix offer. Warner Bros. Discovery’s board recommended the Paramount deal in February 2026, and shareholders approved it in April. Paramount’s bid was further strengthened by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s irrevocable personal guarantee of roughly $40.4 billion in equity financing, a detail that underscored how much capital was behind David Ellison’s push to build a new media giant. The antitrust approval may settle one question in Washington, but it sharpens a larger one for the public: whether the country should keep allowing fewer companies to own more of the stories, screens and newsrooms that shape daily life.