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Rob Bonta defended the antitrust settlement that allows Paramount to merge with Warner Bros. on Monday, saying in a 45-minute press conference that the deal includes independent monitoring and will result in more jobs
in Hollywood.
But the deal does not include the three words — robust structural remedies — that California’s attorney general had said was the goal since filing suit in July. And while he went to some lengths to argue that the deal represents a “strong” outcome, he also acknowledged it was not his preferred result.
“I don’t think these two companies should merge,” he said. “But that’s not something that we are focused on with our resolution here.”
Bonta had come under increasing pressure in the last few weeks, as Gov. Gavin Newsom, Xavier Becerra, the cinema trade group, and labor leaders all expressed hope for a settlement. Paramount also did its best to increase the leverage on Bonta, threatening to relocate to Tennessee and seeking a court order to force the 12-state coalition to pay $1.88 billion for delaying the deal.
In the press conference, Bonta sought to downplay that pressure. “That’s not what I’m thinking about, that’s not my focus,” he said. making the case that the A.G.’s victories in court put pressure on Paramount to offer significant concessions.
“We got the antitrust resolution that we wanted,” he said. “Very strong remedies and commitments to address the concerns that we raised.”
As to whether he thought the states could have prevailed at trial next spring, he said that courtrooms “always have risk.” He also acknowledged concerns that prolonging the case would create “uncertainty” in Hollywood, an issue that had been raised by Paramount and some labor unions.
“This deal gives certainty about the future of production right here in L.A.,” he said, noting that Paramount had committed to increasing domestic production and to not selling its L.A. lots for at least five years. “That also generates important certainty for this industry that I think is craving it.”
He also argued that the outcome is dramatically different from the Hollywood’s last major merger, the Disney-Fox deal, which went unchallenged by antitrust authorities and led to reduced production.
“This agreement is the opposite of Disney-Fox,” he said. “The things that we saw in the Disney-Fox merger — a massive decrease in film production… this doesn’t just guard against that and protect against the downside; it locks in a massive upside.”
Bonta was alone at the podium, without his trial team or representatives from the other 11 states involved in the suit. He was also not joined by the Writers Guild of America, which filed its own antitrust suit and also resolved it over the weekend.
In a statement, the WGA said that the settlement terms “fall far short of adequately protecting writers,” but that it could not bear the cost of continuing its suit without support from the states.
William Tong, the attorney general of Connecticut, also expressed dismay that the deal does not include divesture of CBS and CNN, which he said was needed to save “ethical and independent journalism.”
“We fought aggressively for that remedy,” he said. “I am deeply disappointed that we could not do more.”
Bonta noted that all 12 states signed on to the settlement. He also said the WGA was not involved in the states’ negotiations.
“They brought their own case,” he said. “They decided whether or not they wanted to resolve their case and under what terms.”
Bonta said there was no key moment or provision that unlocked the deal, and struggled to offer a timeline of how the agreement came together.
“These days have blurred because we’ve been in some deep and robust conversations,” he said.
