Booker Holds Hearing on Risks of Paramount–Skydance / Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Ahead of Shareholder Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, held a spotlight hearingexamining the anticompetitive impacts of the proposed Paramount-Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Senators heard testimony from Academy Award-winning director and producer David Borenstein; actor and producer Mark Ruffalo; Writers Guild of America East Legal Director Michael Isaac; Senior Advisor for Democracy Defenders Action Katie Phang; and civil rights litigator Mara Verheyden-Hilliard on how consolidating two of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios, two major news networks, and a dominant share of U.S. scripted content under one corporation could affect consumers, creative workers, and independent journalism. U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8) also joined the hearing.

"This hearing is about ensuring the American people know the damaging and far-reaching impacts of the proposed Paramount merger: higher costs, potential job losses, and a media landscape where access to information is further restricted and controlled by a single powerful corporation with outsized control over news and entertainment markets," said Senator Cory Booker. "For months, I have called for congressional oversight to examine whether this deal benefits the American public, not just a wealthy few; whether it raises national security concerns, including the role of Gulf sovereign wealth funds reportedly pouring billions into the deal, as well as potential ties to China; and whether Americans will still have the opportunity to watch creative, diverse storytelling on screen. It is Congress' responsibility to fully examine whether this deal is in the interest of the American people."

Witnesses detailed what such consolidation could mean for consumer prices, industry jobs, and the independence of newsrooms that millions of Americans rely on. The hearing followed an open letter from more than 2,000 Hollywood professionals-including Bryan Cranston, Jane Fonda, and Joaquin Phoenix-opposing the merger and warning it would further strain an already pressured industry.

Panelists from the entertainment industry said the deal could raise consumer prices, drive job losses, and reduce creative diversity across the industry. Other witnesses raised concerns about foreign financing involvement and the lack of a coordinated national security review for a transaction involving sensitive U.S. media infrastructure.

"This merger threatens more than our livelihoods-it threatens one of the world's most vital industries, one that sparks necessary conversations and helps people everywhere laugh, cry, and see themselves and one another with greater clarity and humanity," said Mark Ruffalo, actor and producer. "I cannot stand by and allow it to proceed without using my voice to raise the alarm. Tens of thousands of workers will be left poorer, along with the audiences we serve, the communities that depend on this industry, and the broader marketplace of ideas and artistic freedom. Don't be misled by empty promises from billionaires-trust competition."

"American filmmakers working on documentaries about democracy, civil rights, immigration, or foreign policy now face extreme challenges-not because there is no audience for their films, but because a small number of distributors have consolidated power and decided to feed audiences a narrow and politically safe diet of content. This has been made worse by the shuttering of the Center for Public Broadcasting, and it's about to get a whole lot worse with the WBD-Paramount merger, unless it's stopped," said David Borenstein, Academy Award-winning director and producer.

"Paramount-Skydance's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent. We thank Senator Booker for hosting this spotlight forum to draw much-needed attention to how this merger, if approved, would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions and opportunities for all entertainment and news workers, raise prices for consumers, threaten free speech, and reduce the volume and diversity of content accessible to the public. This merger must be blocked," said Michael Isaac, Director of Legal Services at the Writers Guild of America East.

"When a handful of billionaires and giant corporations control what Americans watch, hear, read, and ultimately discuss, the freedom of speech becomes something closer to a branding exercise than a constitutional guarantee," said Katie Phang, Senior Advisor for Democracy Defenders Action. "Our Founding Fathers did not put freedom of the press in the First Amendment because they thought journalism would be profitable. We commend Senator Booker for holding this important spotlight hearing to highlight the significant dangers that further media consolidation poses to our democracy and the ability for Americans to have their voices heard."

"As a First Amendment litigator who has for decades defended the rights of people to speak out and say what they believe in, the threat to free speech and democracy that we are facing is profound and growing. We are experiencing an open assault on free speech and targeting of viewpoints for suppression. This proposed massive merger creates the conditions for extreme government censorship in partnership with monopoly power to silence dissent, to silence truthful news, to suppress brilliant creative voices. Democracy cannot flourish without many voices and many views. It is how we learn from each other, how we educate each other, and how we grow as a people. We cannot afford this hollowing out of democracy," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.

Today's hearing builds on Senator Booker's ongoing oversight efforts regarding the proposed merger. In recent months, Booker has sought testimony from Paramount-Skydance leadership, requested detailed information regarding the merger's competitive and national security implications, and led efforts in Congress to preserve records and demand transparency. Many of these requests have gone unanswered.

Additionally, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter today to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review Paramount-Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, citing national security concerns due to significant foreign investment financing that may involve ties to foreign military entities.

SEE ALSO:

• Booker, Schumer, Durbin, Blumenthal, Hirono, Whitehouse, Warren Challenge FCC to Conduct Full Review of Foreign Investment Concerns in Paramount & Warner Bros. Merger
• Booker Statement: "The proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery is far from settled."
• Booker, Schumer, Durbin, Klobuchar, Warren, Blumenthal, Hirono, Welch Demand Paramount CEO & Chairman David Ellison Preserve All Records Related to Proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Transaction
• Booker, Durbin Demand Answers Following Trump Administration's Removal of DOJ Antitrust Chief Gail Slater, Warn of Political Interference in DOJ's Lawsuit Against Live Nation/Ticketmaster

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