#BlockTheMerger

They said it was a done deal. We made it a fight.

When Paramount moved to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a $111 billion deal — the largest transaction in Hollywood history — they had vastly more money, political influence and institutional power than our scrappy coalition across labor, organizations and our members. 

But our members understood what was at stake: thousands of jobs, fewer opportunities for artists and workers, and extraordinary control over American news and culture concentrated in the hands of one company. So we joined forces.

Our coalition — including Free Press Action, Democracy Defenders Fund, American Economic Liberties Project, the Future Film Coalition, Public Citizen, the Writers Guilds and many others — brought together artists, workers, independent filmmakers, advocates and consumers to #BlockTheMerger. Together, we turned a corporate transaction widely treated as inevitable into a national fight.

5,500+ entertainment professionals signed our open letter.
171,000 people petitioned their state Attorneys General.
Thousands called, rallied and organized.
And 12 state Attorneys General sued to stop the merger.

How a long-shot fight became a national campaign

→ APRIL 2026 — Hollywood speaks out

More than 1,000 entertainment professionals launch an open letter opposing the merger. Within weeks, more than 5,000 have signed. Our coalition organizes workers, holds town halls across the country, mobilizes around the Warner Bros. shareholder vote and brings industry voices to congressional hearings in Washington. 10 days after we dropped our open letter and organized so much, the whole conversation shifted across the ecosystem to “this is not a done deal.” 

→ MAY–JUNE 2026 — We build pressure

Artists and workers tell their stories publicly. Our coalition helps deliver 171,000 petitions to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. At Rise Up, Sing Out alone, another 8,552 people sign on and nearly 1,000 calls are placed to Attorneys General.

→ JULY 2026 — 12 states take Paramount to court

Twelve state Attorneys General sue to block the merger. The Writers Guilds bring a separate antitrust challenge. Days later, the transaction is frozen and a federal trial is set for March 2027. A deal once treated as inevitable now has to survive a federal antitrust case.

→ AUGUST 2026 — Paramount fights back

Paramount threatens to move its headquarters out of California, demands a $1.88 billion bond and mounts an aggressive PR campaign to avoid trial. Our coalition launches #NoConcessions, mobilizing the public to demand that the Attorneys General make Paramount defend its merger in court.

→ SEPTEMBER 2026 — The states settle

Under pressure from California elected officials, the Attorneys General abandon the lawsuit and accept a terrible, toothless settlement allowing the merger to proceed with weak behavioral remedies. Our coalition fights through the final days — rallying in Los Angeles, New York and Oakland and returning to federal court to challenge the settlement. The judge approved our motion to write an amicus brief, then finally on September 30th approved the consent decree, moving this merger one step closer to being finalized.

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We did not stop the merger. But we won a lot in this fight. This coalition of artists, workers and public-interest organizations took on one of the biggest media deals in history and made it anything but inevitable. We’ve never seen any group this strong ready to fight media consolidation, and this is not the end. 

We mobilized thousands of people across an industry, forced sustained scrutiny of the merger and the power against it, and helped turn public pressure into a twelve-state federal antitrust challenge. And we built something that outlasts this campaign: new relationships across labor, advocacy and the creative community, and a coalition better equipped to organize together for the next fight.

That is what an organized entertainment industry can do.