Arabic version: إليسون يدافع عن استحواذ باراماونت على وارنر براذرز

According to BBC News, Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison has defended his company’s proposed $110bn (£86bn) takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery in his first public comments on the transaction. Writing in an op-ed published by The New York Times, Ellison said opposition to the mega-merger relied on a vision of Hollywood that “no longer exists.”

Ellison rejected arguments that a combined company would have excessive market control or weaken newsroom independence. Addressing concerns about Paramount’s CBS and Warner’s CNN, he said the outlets would remain non-partisan and positioned to “tell it straight down the middle.”

Seeking to answer antitrust concerns, Ellison said a merged Paramount-Warner would represent less than 20% of US television watch time. That figure would fall to about 13% when YouTube is included, he said. He argued that the company would compete with technology groups including Netflix, Amazon and Apple, whose resources “dwarf ours.”

Ellison also pointed to plans for 30 theatrical films and 170 television series each year, supported by more than $30bn in annual content investment. He said greater investment was needed to support creative workers against technology platforms driven by engagement algorithms, while acknowledging that “nobody can dictate what audiences will love.”

The deal remains held up by domestic legal challenges. In July, 12 state attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta, together with the Writers Guild of America, filed antitrust lawsuits seeking to stop it. They argued the merger would violate the Clayton Act by reducing competition and harming opportunities for writers. The US Department of Justice and international regulators, including the European Union, have approved the transaction, but federal proceedings are on hold and the trial has been pushed to 2 March 2027.