Senator Booker Slams Corporate Power Grab in Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Settlement
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Sen. Cory Booker condemned the settlement over the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, accusing the corporation and the Justice Department of colluding to undermine antitrust enforcement and enable further media consolidation.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-CA) fiercely criticized the settlement reached between corporate behemoth Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery and state attorneys general, arguing it utterly fails to address the rampant antitrust concerns threatening democracy and media diversity. Booker denounced the agreement for abandoning states to fight corporate monopolies alone, while letting the media giant evade any meaningful accountability or structural remedies.
Booker called out Paramount’s brazen threat to withdraw from California if the state dared to pursue its lawsuit, labeling it as nothing short of 'extortion'—a classic tactic of corporate intimidation. He warned that this merger would decimate the number of major Hollywood studios and basic-cable owners, consolidating about a third of the theatrical film market and a third of basic-cable programming under a single profit-driven entity. Booker stressed that mere behavioral commitments are no substitute for real structural reform, highlighting the devastating impacts on workers, wages, and consumers, who will face higher prices and fewer choices.
The settlement outrageously does not require Paramount to divest any assets unless it violates a list of weak behavioral remedies related to film production and cable negotiations. In a tone-deaf response, a Paramount spokesperson boasted that the deal was rubber-stamped by nearly 70 jurisdictions and would supposedly create 'more stories, more choice, and more competition'—a hollow promise in the face of growing monopolization.
Booker also sounded the alarm about a provision establishing an editorial review board for CNN and CBS News, warning that an 'independent' board handpicked by the merger’s billionaire owner could trample on First Amendment protections and further erode journalistic integrity. He cited reports of the Ellison family’s backroom discussions with President Trump about reshaping CNN, while Paramount tried to deflect by claiming no official commitments were made to any government body regarding news outlets.
The senator decried the merger as 'corruption in plain sight,' referencing a Pentagon press briefing where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth openly celebrated the Ellisons’ involvement—an example of the revolving door between corporate interests and government. Booker vowed to scrutinize other mergers greenlit by the current administration if Democrats reclaim Senate control in the upcoming elections, signaling a fight against unchecked corporate power.