What the proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. means for Atlanta

Atlanta is home to one of the most vibrant media industries in the U.S. After the passage of a new round of production tax incentives, it is poised for even more growth, but Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) threatens to reverse Atlanta’s fortunes and prominent position in the media and cultural industry.

We urge Chris Carr, Georgia’s attorney general to join the impending lawsuit from California and New York to block this merger, protect Georgia’s media industry and defend our consumer interests

Media work has been a staple in Atlanta for over 50 years and Atlantans are no strangers to the effects of media mergers. In 1996, in one of the first big media ownership shake-ups, Time Warner acquired Turner Networks for $7.57 billion. Turner Networks would bounce between owners and with each subsequent owner, Georgians would face another round of layoffs.

In 2023, longtime leadership and staff at the now WBD-owned Turner Networks (e.g., Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network) were laid off, and more cuts to the workforce happened in 2024 and 2025. The workers who survived the most recent round of layoffs are now facing more uncertainty under a merged Paramount Warner Bros. Some analysts have estimated there will be up to 6,000 workers who lose their jobs in the proposed “synergies,” and many of those may come from the workforce here in Atlanta.

Paramount Skydance’s leadership has also indicated that one of its top three cost savings after the merger will be realized through the sale of real estate. It is highly likely that they would look to closing down Atlanta operations, laying off those workers and selling their Atlanta properties. The sale of the Turner/WBD campus in Midtown, also known as “Techwood,” would alter the physical landscape of Atlanta as much as its cultural and professional landscape.

Potential merger limits competition and gives massive power over customer data

Jennifer Porst, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Film & Media at Emory University, and her research focuses on media law and policy. (Courtesy)

Beyond the loss of corporate media jobs and the radical alteration of the physical spaces in Georgia, consolidation of Paramount and WBD threatens the vibrant production culture and health of soundstages like Trilith, Assembly, Shadowbox Studios and Cinespace to name only a few, that Georgia has been developing over the past twenty years.

Paramount Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison has claimed that Paramount will make 30 films a year, but there is reason to be skeptical of this promise. Studio film slates have been shrinking over the past five years – Paramount and WBD combined have only made closer to 20 films per year since 2021. Fewer films being produced means fewer productions utilizing the stages in Georgia, and that has a negative effect on the economy more broadly.

For consumers, this merger would likely mean fewer choices for viewing media content and higher prices. It will further consolidate the major distributors for film and television, and importantly, put control of Paramount+, HBOMax and Pluto TV under one corporate roof. That will further narrow the avenues by which producers can make their content available to streaming audiences and lock it behind increasingly cost prohibitive paywalls.

Beyond the loss of corporate media jobs and the radical alteration of the physical spaces in Georgia, consolidation of Paramount and WBD threatens the vibrant production culture and health of soundstages like Trilith, Assembly, Shadowbox Studios and Cinespace to name only a few, that Georgia has been developing over the past twenty years.

Paramount Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison has claimed that Paramount will make 30 films a year, but there is reason to be skeptical of this promise. Studio film slates have been shrinking over the past five years – Paramount and WBD combined have only made closer to 20 films per year since 2021. Fewer films being produced means fewer productions utilizing the stages in Georgia, and that has a negative effect on the economy more broadly.

For consumers, this merger would likely mean fewer choices for viewing media content and higher prices. It will further consolidate the major distributors for film and television, and importantly, put control of Paramount+, HBOMax and Pluto TV under one corporate roof. That will further narrow the avenues by which producers can make their content available to streaming audiences and lock it behind increasingly cost prohibitive paywalls.

As tech companies take over Hollywood, the role of data and its control becomes increasingly important. As Paramount stated in their recent earnings report that they are transforming Paramount into a tech-enabled media company by unifying their platforms, data, and workflows across the business and rapidly scaling their artificial intelligence (AI)-powered development tools.

Former Federal Trade Commission Chair and antitrust expert Lina Khan has argued that “firms with concentrated control over data can systematically tilt a market in their favor, dramatically reshaping the sector.” The immense amount of user data that the new Paramount Warner Bros. would collect across their various businesses threatens competition in the media industry and raises significant privacy concerns related to consumer data.

Pay attention to monopolies, worker protections and consumer rights

Kate Fortmueller, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Film, Media & Theater at Georgia State University, and her research focuses on media labor. (Courtesy)

In the history of the media industry, monopolies form out of moments of disruption when companies find ways to dominate the market while the law struggles to evolve to keep up with rapidly changing market conditions.

It is perhaps no surprise then that Paramount has tried to take unfair advantage of this moment of change and has argued that this merger needs to go through to allow the newly formed company to be competitive in an uncertain future.

They promise that if they are allowed to become an industry-dominating conglomerate, they would pass along any savings to their customers through lower prices and to the industry by further investment in content.

If we have learned anything from the examples set by almost every other corporation in the United States, and the behaviors of private equity firms in particular, it is that those promises are empty.

In the history of the media industry, monopolies form out of moments of disruption when companies find ways to dominate the market while the law struggles to evolve to keep up with rapidly changing market conditions.

It is perhaps no surprise then that Paramount has tried to take unfair advantage of this moment of change and has argued that this merger needs to go through to allow the newly formed company to be competitive in an uncertain future.

They promise that if they are allowed to become an industry-dominating conglomerate, they would pass along any savings to their customers through lower prices and to the industry by further investment in content.

If we have learned anything from the examples set by almost every other corporation in the United States, and the behaviors of private equity firms in particular, it is that those promises are empty.

They will raise prices on consumers because they can. Their market dominance and the potentials of AI will allow them to further reduce their workforce, exclude independent producers and exhibitors from competing, and force consumers to deal with less content and higher prices.

Windows of time open in which monopolistic behaviors are allowed or unnoticed. Regulators struggle to find a balance between promoting efficient competition and curbing anti-competitive behaviors.

It’s time to pay more attention to monopolies, protect workers and challenge anti-consumer practices: we strongly encourage Georgia to join the fight to save our media industry and prevent this merger from going through.