2026-07-13T12:27:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
由12个州组成的联盟于周一提起诉讼，阻止派拉蒙斯坎德收购华纳兄弟探索公司，这为这项将美国两大媒体巨头合并的1100亿美元交易带来了新的挑战。
由加利福尼亚州总检察长罗布·邦塔牵头的12个州的总检察长声称，此次合并将损害电影行业的竞争，并导致行业从业者薪资降低、工作机会减少。各州还认为，合并将推高有线电视套餐和电影票价，并减少新闻和娱乐选择，从而损害消费者利益。
“我们制定反垄断法和并购监管制度是有原因的，因为竞争是健康且充满活力的经济的命脉。竞争促使企业拿出最佳作品、进行创新，并提供公平合理的价格，”邦塔在周一的新闻发布会上说道。
提起诉讼的州包括亚利桑那州、加利福尼亚州、科罗拉多州、康涅狄格州、马萨诸塞州、明尼苏达州、内华达州、新泽西州、新墨西哥州、纽约州、俄勒冈州和华盛顿州。诉讼称，此次合并违反了1914年《克莱顿法》，该法律禁止可能削弱竞争或形成垄断的合并。
派拉蒙斯坎德誓言将对诉讼进行抗辩。
“平心而论，州总检察长提起的诉讼反映了对反垄断法的根本性错误适用，无论在事实还是法律层面都是错误的，”派拉蒙斯坎德的一位发言人在一份声明中表示。
华纳兄弟的一位发言人让哥伦比亚广播公司新闻联系派拉蒙斯坎德。
据邦塔的办公室透露，如果合并完成，派拉蒙和华纳兄弟将控制近三分之一的有线电视节目内容和超过三分之一的大片票房。
各州联盟已要求两家公司“在司法程序结束前”暂停合并。
“如果他们不同意，联盟将申请临时禁制令，”邦塔的办公室表示。
派拉蒙此前曾表示，预计交易将在第三季度完成。如果合并未能在9月30日前完成，派拉蒙同意向股东支付每股25美分的“逾期费”，每季度金额达6.5亿美元。
此次诉讼发起之际，美国司法部已于6月结束对该交易的调查，为派拉蒙和华纳兄弟的合并扫清了道路。当时，司法部表示，该交易“不太可能对竞争或美国消费者造成损害”。
派拉蒙斯坎德是哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的母公司，该公司辩称，这笔交易将促进竞争，并打造一家更强大的公司。这家由首席执行官大卫·埃利森领导的娱乐公司承诺，通过合并后的业务每年在影院发行30部电影，并称此举将有助于支撑就业增长。
这项拟议中的合并将打造一家媒体巨头，将派拉蒙与华纳兄弟合并。派拉蒙拥有派拉蒙影业及喜剧中心、尼克国际儿童频道等有线电视网络；华纳兄弟则拥有《哈利·波特》系列IP以及美国有线电视新闻网、HBO Max、TBS和TNT等有线电视网络。
来自各州、好莱坞及国际社会的反对声
此次合并遭到了多方反对，其中就包括加利福尼亚州总检察长罗布·邦塔。今年2月，他宣布加利福尼亚州司法部将对这笔交易展开调查，并表示其办公室将进行“强有力的”审查。
好莱坞的一些主要参与者也反对此次合并。今年4月，包括索菲亚·科波拉、凯文·贝肯、简·方达和罗伯特·德尼罗在内的5000多名行业专业人士联名签署了一封公开信，反对此次合并，称其将导致“创作者的机会减少、制作生态系统中的就业岗位减少、成本上升，以及美国和全球观众的选择减少”。
针对这封信，派拉蒙斯坎德在4月表示，合并将为创作者提供“更多的作品发行渠道，而非更少”。
“这笔交易独特地整合了互补优势，将打造一家能够批准更多项目、支持大胆创意、帮助人才跨越职业发展多个阶段，并将故事以真正的全球规模带给观众的公司，”派拉蒙在一份声明中说道。
派拉蒙还吹嘘已获得包括中国、加拿大和澳大利亚在内的多个国家的额外监管批准。但其他地区的审查仍在进行中，包括欧盟和英国，后者已暗示可能会介入。
今年早些时候的另一起案件中，各州联盟起诉阻止奈克斯塔特媒体集团与广播公司特格纳的合并。一名联邦法官随后阻止了这项62亿美元的合并，直到反垄断诉讼得到解决，认定州总检察长和同样提起诉讼的美国直播电视公司很可能在阻止合并的法律诉求中胜诉。
艾米·皮奇编辑
美联社为本报道提供了支持。
12 states sue to block Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger
2026-07-13T12:27:00-0400 / CBS News
A coalition of a dozen states on Monday sued to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, posing a new challenge to the $110 billion deal that would unite two of the nation’s largest media companies.
Attorneys general from the 12 states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, claim that the merger would harm competition in the movie industry and result in lower pay and fewer job opportunities for industry professionals. The states also argue that the merger would hurt consumers by driving up cable package and movie ticket prices and offering fewer news and entertainment choices.
“We have antitrust laws and merger controls for a reason, because competition is the lifeblood of a healthy and vibrant economy. Competition pushes companies to produce their best work, to innovate, and to offer fair and reasonable prices,” Bonta said in a Monday press conference.
The states suing are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington. The lawsuit alleges that the merger is illegal under the Clayton Act of 1914, which prevents mergers that may undermine competition or create a monopoly.
Paramount Skydance vowed to fight the lawsuit.
“The lawsuit filed by the state attorneys general, in the most generous light, reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law,” a Paramount Skydance spokesperson said in a statement.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson referred CBS News to Paramount Skydance.
If combined, Paramount and Warner Bros. would control nearly a third of cable programming and more than a third of blockbuster films, according to Bonta’s office.
The coalition of states has requested that the two companies halt the merger until “after the judicial process concludes.”
“If they do not agree, the coalition will be filing a temporary restraining order,” Bonta’s office said.
Paramount has previously said it expects the transaction to close in the third quarter. If the merger isn’t completed by Sept. 30, Paramount has agreed to pay shareholders a 25-cent per share “ticking fee,” amounting to $650 million per quarter.
The lawsuit comes after the Justice Department closed its investigation into the deal in June, clearing the way for Paramount and Warner Bros. to merge. At the time, the DOJ said the transaction “is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.”
Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, has argued that the deal would promote competition and result in a stronger company. The entertainment company, led by CEO David Ellison, had committed to releasing 30 films a year in theaters through the combined business, a move it said will help support job growth.
The proposed deal would create a media giant, combining Paramount, which owns Paramount studios and cable networks such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, with Warner Bros., owner of the “Harry Potter” franchise and cable networks including CNN, HBO Max, TBS and TNT.
Pushback from states, Hollywood, international community
The merger has drawn opposition from multiple sources, among them California Attorney General Rob Bonta. In February, he announced that the California Department of Justice was launching an investigation into the deal, writing that his office intended to conduct a “vigorous” review.
Some major players in Hollywood have also opposed the combination. In April, more than 5,000 industry professionals — including celebrities such as Sofia Coppola, Kevin Bacon, Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro — signed an open letter against the merger, saying that it would result in “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
In response to the letter, Paramount Skydance said in April that the merger would give creators “more avenues for their work, not fewer.”
“This transaction uniquely brings together complementary strengths to create a company that can greenlight more projects, back bold ideas, support talent across multiple stages of their careers, and bring stories to audiences at a truly global scale,” Paramount said in a statement.
Paramount has touted additional regulatory clearances from several other countries, including China, Canada and Australia. But other reviews remain in progress, including in the European Union and the U.K., which has separately suggested it may intervene.
In another case earlier this year, a coalition of states sued to block a merger between Nexstar Media Group and broadcast company Tegna. A federal judge subsequently blocked the $6.2 billion merger until the antitrust lawsuit is resolved, finding the state AGs and DirecTV, which also sued, were likely to prevail in their legal bid to stop the merger.
Edited by Aimee Picchi
The Associated Press contributed to this report.