California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday that his office is scrutinizing any deal that would put Warner Bros. Discovery under the control of either Netflix or Paramount, warning that another major merger in media could narrow competition and hit jobs in a state that depends on entertainment work.
“California is taking a very close look,” Bonta said in a statement from his office, adding that his team will challenge consolidation it views as unlawful.
The statement lands in the middle of a fast-moving takeover fight. Warner Bros. Discovery has scheduled a March 20 shareholder vote on a transaction that would sell its studio and streaming assets to Netflix while spinning off the company’s cable networks into a separate business. Warner leadership has continued to recommend the Netflix deal even while opening a short window for Paramount to present a “best and final” bid.
Paramount, which has pursued Warner through an unsolicited all-cash offer for the full company, said the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period tied to its bid expired Feb. 19. The lapse removes a statutory pause but does not block the Justice Department from continuing to investigate or suing to stop the deal.
Bonta’s entry adds state-level pressure to a process already drawing attention from Washington and industry groups. His office said the proposals raise concerns about market concentration, reduced competition, harm to media workers, and limits on creative diversity. The California Department of Justice also pointed the public to an antitrust complaint form for reporting conduct that may violate competition laws.
State enforcers are increasingly active in large merger reviews, and this one sits at the intersection of streaming power, studio production, and distribution leverage. Reporting citing analyst commentary has said Netflix’s regulatory team has disclosed that more than a dozen state attorneys general, across parties, are examining the Warner transaction.
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For Warner shareholders, the legal and regulatory angle now sits alongside price and deal certainty as Paramount tries to force a change of course and Netflix works to keep its agreement intact ahead of the March vote.
