UK minister will not intervene in Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros
06.08.2026, DPA
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy on Thursday said she will not intervene in the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery by Paramount.
Paramount Skydance beat Netflix in a bidding war to take over Warner Bros Discovery in a $110 billion deal, which is still ongoing.
Nandy said in June she was “minded to intervene” on the merger, on the basis it would impact media plurality in the UK.
In a public statement on Thursday, the culture secretary said Paramount “put forward a set of assurances seeking to address the issues raised.”
She added: “These assurances included a range of commitments on future investment in the UK, maintaining the distinct editorial identities of key services and the editorial independence of news.
“Following further discussions with DCMS officials, Paramount offered to strengthen those assurances and turn them into legally-binding commitments by way of a ‘deed of undertaking’ made in the Secretary of State’s favour.”
The Competition and Markets Authority has decided there are no competition aspects of the proposed merger in the UK which would necessitate its further intervention.
Paramount will provide Nandy with annual statements of compliance under the deed, while the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will “closely monitor their implementation.”
Nandy has accepted the deed and will formally update Parliament on her decision when it returns from summer recess in September.
The statement added that the media sector is “undergoing a profound and rapid transformation” and the culture secretary “believes it is of the utmost importance to protect plurality, diversity and distinct British voices across our wider creative industries.”
Nandy will meet with Paramount “in the coming weeks” to seek assurance about the impact the proposed deal will have on Britain’s wider creative industries.
Paramount has told the minister it will not consolidate its linear channels with its on-demand services in the UK and both will retain their distinct editorial identities.
The company has promised Channel 5 News will retain its editorial independence and will be separate from Paramount’s other news operations, CBS News and CNN International.
Paramount has also committed more funding to news, drama and original children’s programming.
The commitments in the deed will come into effect on the date on which the transaction completes, and will remain effective for a period of five years.
Under the Enterprise Act 2002, Nandy’s powers of intervention are limited to public interest considerations, such as media plurality and editorial independence.
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery recently agreed to pause their proposed merger until next summer, as a judge continues to consider a challenge from 12 US states seeking to block the deal altogether.
In a court filing, Paramount said it would not close the merger until either a court ruling is made on the merits of the states’ lawsuit or June 1, 2027.
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