Paramount Skydance, CA AG Bonta Meeting in October to Talk WBD Deal
· BCPosted in: HBO, Max, Movies, Paramount+, TV | Tagged: paramount skydance, warner bros discovery
Paramount Skydance, CA AG Bonta Meeting in October to Talk WBD Deal
California AG Rob Bonta and Paramount Skydance will meet at the end of October to discuss possibly settling the Warner Bros Discovery deal.
Published Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:13:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- California AG Rob Bonta canceled September talks, accusing Paramount Skydance of bad-faith leaks and misrepresenting settlement discussions.
- Paramount Skydance denied leaking confidential details and said it remains ready for good-faith talks on the Warner Bros Discovery deal.
- The antitrust fight targets Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion Warner Bros Discovery deal, with multiple states backing Bonta.
- A judge ordered Paramount Skydance and Bonta to submit the dates for the two-day in-person settlement conference at the end of October.
It's not like 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 didn't try to meet face-to-face last month. The problem? When neither side necessarily trusts the other, it doesn't take much to blow up plans. The evening before a planned meeting between the two sides, AG Bonta announced that he was canceling talks, accusing Paramount Skydance of misrepresenting details from a prior meeting between the two sides regarding the antitrust lawsuit to block the $110 billion deal for Warner Bros Discovery. "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 part, in a statement. "As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again."
Paramount Skydance would issue a statement pushing back on claims that it had leaked and twisted details from the 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."
With a March 2027 court date still looming, it looks like both sides will be meeting for two consecutive days at the end of October to see if a settlement can be reached. Paramount Skydance and Bonta were "ordered to meet and confer regarding scheduling," U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson, adding that they were to inform his clerk "by close of business 9/15/2026 regarding the two consecutive days at the end of October that work for an in-person settlement conference beginning at 10:00 AM." While expectations aren't exactly being set too high for the two-day session, having a set meeting is a good start.
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