CMA gives go-ahead for Paramount WBD acquisition

Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has been cleared by the UK’s competition regulator.

The deal had faced potential further scrutiny after culture secretary Lisa Nandy cited concerns around plurality of views in news media last month, saying she was “minded to intervene” in the £84bn deal.

However, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now formally cleared the deal, with Paramount stating it is grateful for the regulator’s “constructive engagement and its review of the transaction”.

The CMA said the deal “does not give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition in the UK”, adding that it had considered “a wide range of evidence” having invited industry opinion on the merger earlier in the year.

Paramount first announced its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery in February this year, with the merger approved by the US department of justice and other regulatory bodies in Canada, China, and Australia. The CMA launched its own enquiry at the beginning of July with a deadline of August 7.

Of particular interest to the CMA was the effects of the merger on theatrical distribution of films and wholesale supply of linear children’s TV channels. The regulator said it had “considered but dismissed” concerns around production and licensing of content, as well as the impact of combined streamers, namely HBO Max and Paramount+.

On theatrical film distribution, the CMA said that while the companies “compete closely, they do not appear closer to each other than to Universal, Disney, or Sony.”

It added that while the merged entity would become the UK’s largest distributor, “it would continue to face competition from these three major studios and a range of other smaller studios.”

Regarding kids TV, the CMA said that although both companies offer channels to younger viewer - Paramount is behind Nickelodeon while WBD owns Cartoon Network and Boomerang - consumers would still have access to “a number of alternatives, including free-to-air channels and children’s content available via SVoD.” It also noted that demand for linear pay-TV children’s channels is declining, adding that the combined group would “be sufficiently constrained in the supply of linear children’s TV channels.”

The CMA added that streaming competitors such as Netflix, Apple, Disney and Amazon Prime, as well as iPlayer and ITVX, would “continue to provide sufficient competition”, and confirmed it would not be referring the merger to a phase 2 investigation.

Its greenlight marks the 66^th government or jurisdiction to OK the transaction or elect not to challenge it.

Paramount has separately entered into a ‘deed of covenant and undertaking’ with the DCMS, stating it welcomes the opportunity to engage and is “pleased to have agreed on a path forward.”

“Paramount recognises that the combination of Paramount and WBD will enhance consumer choice and enable a creative-first company to invest in more projects and bring stories to audiences worldwide,” the US giant added. “It will create a scaled media and entertainment company capable of competing with the tech companies that have come to dominate the industry, strengthening the media ecosystem and creating more opportunities for creatives both in front of and behind the camera.”

Paramount added the result underlines its stance that the deal “does not raise antitrust concerns in any market”, citing its battle against a recent US lawsuit which has seen 12 US state attorneys attempt to block the merger.

“Similar to the European Commission, which cleared the transaction on 22 July 2026 after months of careful review, the conclusions reached by the CMA directly refute the assumptions that underpin the US state AGs’ complaint seeking to block the transaction, despite federal approval. When considering theatrical film distribution, the CMA concluded that the merged entity ’would continue to face competition from these three major studios and a range of other smaller studios”.