Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, Paramount+, TV | Tagged: paramount, Warner Bros

Paramount Skydance Goes Shaggy Defense About Leaks: It Wasn't Me

David Ellison's Paramount Skydance released a statement pushing back on California AG Rob Bonta's claim the company was leaking information.

UPDATE: Shortly after the news hit that California Attorney General Rob Bonta had canceled today's planned one-on-one with David Ellison's Paramount Skydance to discuss a potential settlement of the antitrust lawsuit set for trial in March 2027, Paramount Skydance has issued a statement pushing back on claims that it had leaked and twisted details from a Friday meeting. "We share AG Bonta's concerns about the public discussions and misreporting that has surrounded this deal," the statement read. "As we have assured the Attorney General's office, Paramount has not been the source of the leaks of any of our confidential discussions with the AG's office. We remain hopeful and stand ready to continue good-faith discussions to resolve the Attorneys General suit and move forward with our plans for increased competition and increased output to the benefit of the talent and entertainment workers."

ORIGINAL REPORT: Heading into the weekend, all signs were pointing to California Attorney General Rob Bonta (speaking for Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington) and David Ellison's Paramount Skydance having their first formal face-to-face over the pending antitrust lawsuit that's in play to block Paramount Skydance's $110 billion takeover of David Zaslav's Warner Bros Discovery. Now, with the trial set for March 2027, Paramount's "ticking fee" (basically, if the deal isn't finalized by the end of September, Paramount has to pay Warner Bros Discovery shareholders about $7 million per day), it doesn't look like those talks are going to happen – at least, not today.

Speaking with The New York Times on Sunday night, AG Bonta announced that he was canceling today's talks, accusing Paramount Skydance of misrepresenting details from a meeting held between both parties on Friday. "Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith," Bonta said in a statement. "As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again." Over the weekend, rumblings from sources claimed that AG Bonta was looking to have a number of television networks excluded from the deal and a legal guarantee that Paramount and Warner Bros would continue to function as two autonomous studios.

Here's a look at AG Bonta's complete statement:

"My office was scheduled to meet with Paramount on Monday, August 24th. I have pulled down this meeting. As I've said before, generally for all cases, I prefer to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom. As I've also said, if the opposing party in litigation wants to meet in good faith to make a sincere effort to resolve the case, we'll meet. My office had a meeting with Paramount on Friday. Paramount did not maintain the confidentiality of that meeting. Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith. As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again."

According to a new analysis from CVL Economics and the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), reported exclusively by The Wrap earlier this month, a Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros Discovery deal would lead to a loss of nearly 4,500 Film and Television jobs in Los Angeles County over the next three years. In addition, 10,360 "job years" could be at risk, including: 2,661 indirect jobs at small businesses that support production (printers, transportation companies, etc.) and 3,204 induced jobs that exist when Film and Television production members spend money in the local economy (restaurants, retailers, and more).

FYI? A "job year" represents one job maintained for one year, measuring the total volume of work that could disappear over time. In terms of what this all means from a dollars-and-cents standpoint? The job losses would result in a hit of $1.26 billion in wages, $2.78 billion in economic value, $4.06 billion in total business output, and $547 million in tax revenue (including $78.6 million in local taxes, which mostly come from property taxes)

The CVL-DEO analysis sees the economic downturn resulting from a consolidation of the two companies, which would lead to a reduction in Film and Television production, with Los Angeles-based crews expected to be hit especially hard. In addition, the analysis noted nearly 900 creators hold exclusive deals with the two companies, which could result in the creator and their team losing work if there's a slowdown on the production side. The analysis also noted that the high cost of living in Los Angeles County, as well as California, contributes to productions leaving the state, as well as stronger financial incentives from other states.

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