Paramount reached a settlement with a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, who had sued to block its $11 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. The company agreed to establish an editorial independence board overseeing CBS News and CNN, commit to 30 theatrical releases annually, and protect CBS News Broadcast writers from layoffs for five years while paying $17.5 million to the Writers Guild's health fund. The merger is now expected to close in early October, giving Paramount chief David Ellison control over franchises including DC and Harry Potter.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-21
California and other states that had sued to block Paramount Skydance's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery reached a settlement allowing the deal to proceed, according to multiple reports. The agreement reportedly relies on behavioral commitments from the companies rather than blocking the merger outright, and comes after four states that initially resisted California's proposed terms dropped their objections over the weekend.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-21
Paramount reached a settlement with a coalition of state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America that had sought to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The agreement includes commitments to produce more than 30 films annually and expand U.S.-based film production, addressing concerns raised about jobs and industry health.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-21
Paramount has announced release dates for follow-up films to its horror titles 'Heart Eyes' and 'Crawl,' signaling plans to turn both into ongoing franchises. The studio is moving to capitalize on the earlier films' success by locking in theatrical slots for the sequels.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-19
The FCC has granted Paramount a waiver of its 25% foreign-ownership limit for broadcast licensees, allowing sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to collectively hold up to 49.5% equity in the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery entity. The commission says the funds will hold non-voting stakes, so they won't exercise formal control over the 28 broadcast stations involved. The underlying petition had actually requested approval for up to 100% foreign ownership.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-18
The FCC has approved Paramount Skydance's request to waive federal foreign-ownership limits, allowing indirect foreign ownership to reach 49.5 percent through investments from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The funds, totaling roughly $24 billion, are tied to Paramount's pending $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal already cleared by the Justice Department but still facing a lawsuit from several US states.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-18
The FCC has waived its 25 percent cap on foreign equity ownership to approve a deal allowing sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to collectively hold up to 49.5 percent of the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. entity. The agency argued the stakes carry no voting rights and therefore no control, but critics including Free Press and Commissioner Anna Gomez dispute that reasoning.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-18
Larry Ellison has scrapped a 10b5-1 trading plan that would have allowed him to sell up to 50 million Oracle shares, worth about $7.5 billion at current prices. The plan, adopted June 22 and set to expire Oct. 24, had been disclosed in a regulatory filing just a day before its cancellation, and no shares were ever sold under it. Oracle says Ellison has no other plans to divest any of his stock.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-12
Paramount+ dropped a nearly three-minute trailer for Avatar: Seven Havens, revealing character voices and story details ahead of its October 9 premiere. The series is set 200 years after The Legend of Korra, in a world fractured into seven havens after a catastrophe that has turned public opinion against Avatars, with new Avatar Pavi at the center of the story alongside a twin sister and a group of friends.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-10
Paramount+ has dropped a fresh trailer for 'Avatar: Seven Havens,' the sequel series to 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The show is set to premiere on the streaming service on October 9.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-10
Matt Stone and Trey Parker announced they are renaming South Park to 'South America' for its new season, mocking President Trump's pattern of renaming geographic features like the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario. The change was unveiled on the show's social media with a doctored sign reading 'South America' instead of 'South Park', shortly after the series won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. The creators also sarcastically thanked parent company Paramount Skydance, referencing its pending $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-09-09
After winning an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced they are renaming South Park to 'South America,' framing the move as a satirical tribute to corporate 'bravery' by Apple, Google and parent company Paramount. The announcement coincides with confirmation that Season 29 premieres September 16th on Comedy Central, with episodes streaming on Paramount+.
twitter.com
· 2026-09-08
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