California’s Rob Bonta and 11 other Attorneys General signed a consent decree clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. On today’s podcast we dissect the decree, with a particular focus on the $1.5 billion incremental spending on US production that Paramount agreed to (which translates to $300 million per year). 

As we explain, how and on what this $300 million will be spent is highly ambiguous. We question what the guardrails are, and indeed how enforceable they are in reality. Net, net, we believe that Bonta and the AGs had a weak antitrust case and faced a lot of pressure to settle. That’s what they did. The consent decree gives the Hollywood community only a small amount of ill-defined and short-term relief. 

Importantly, we believe that now the hard part really starts for company CEO David Ellison. $80 billion of debt to service. Fierce competitors with virtually unlimited resources. Constant technology innovation. Changing consumer tastes. It’s a witches’ brew that Ellison and his team are taking on. 

Listen to the podcast now! (35 minutes, 4 seconds)

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