Tennessee Is Courting Paramount

Key Points:

• Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter has invited Paramount CEO David Ellison to relocate the studio’s corporate headquarters to Tennessee amid a legal dispute with California over Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
• California is attempting to block the acquisition, rejecting Paramount’s offer to produce 30 films annually with a 45-day theatrical window as part of an effort to reach a compromise before filing the lawsuit.
• Paramount, which moved its headquarters from New York last year, currently spends $30 billion on production, much of it in California, and relocating could significantly impact the state’s film industry, already experiencing low filming levels.
• Ellison has personal and professional ties to Tennessee, including family connections and plans by Oracle, led by his father, to build a large campus in Nashville, making the state a strategic relocation option.
• The lawsuit to block the acquisition is led by California and a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, highlighting the ongoing regulatory challenges facing Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.