Paramount's David Ellison Meets With UK Culture Secretary In WBD Lobbying
Deadline • • business
Key Points:
- Paramount CEO David Ellison met with UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and European creatives as part of a European campaign to challenge Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) deal with Netflix.
- Paramount is attempting to block WBD's $83 billion sale to Netflix, emphasizing the preservation of theatrical cinema, a key concern for European leaders, especially in France.
- The EU must approve the WBD-Netflix deal, which may trigger an investigation and potential conditions to prevent Netflix from monopolizing content through licensing agreements.
- Paramount and regulatory experts highlight concerns about streaming market dominance if Netflix merges with HBO Max, with debates ongoing about how to define the relevant video market.
- Paramount lost a court bid to expedite financial disclosures from WBD
 { path { fill: %23EEEFE9 } })