The British government indicated on Tuesday that it may challenge Paramount Skydance’s planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery due to concerns about its impact on media diversity in the country.
Media Diversity Concerns
British culture minister Lisa Nandy said in a statement that she was “minded to intervene” in Paramount’s quest to acquire CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio and other Warner Bros. Discovery assets.
Nandy added that she was considering intervening on public interest grounds, including ensuring there is a “sufficient plurality of views in news media” and a “sufficient plurality of persons with control of the media enterprises.”
Paramount has cleared regulatory hurdles in many other countries, including in the US, where the Justice Department signed off on the deal earlier in June without requiring any concessions.
A Paramount spokesperson told CNN: “We are grateful for the continued constructive engagement with all interested government bodies and relevant authorities, including in the UK. We are confident that our proposed transaction does not pose any media plurality issues in the UK and remain confident in our stated transaction timeline.”
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
