Credit: Dmitry Kropachev via Unsplash
Australia's competition watchdog has waved through Paramount Skydance's blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, days before US regulators did the same, though the deal still faces live challenges in Europe.
The ACCC issued its Phase 1 on June 9 and found no substantial lessening of competition in Australia across theatrical film, streaming or broadcast content supply.
The US Department of Justice cleared the deal without conditions on June 12, saying the merger was "not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers."
Both regulators were satisfied that rivals, including Disney, Universal, Sony and a range of independent content suppliers, would keep the merged entity honest.
The ACCC also found that Australia's streaming market, where Paramount+ and HBO Max would combine, remained competitive enough given the presence of Netflix, Stan, Binge and others.
The deal, worth around $110bn including debt, would reshape Paramount's considerable Australian footprint. Network 10, one of five free-to-air networks, operating four TV channels and the free streaming service '10', would sit inside a combined entity that also controls HBO Max and Warner Bros. Discovery's suite of pay TV channels including Discovery, CNN and Animal Planet.
For media buyers, that is a meaningful concentration of inventory under one roof.
The ACCC did consider whether the merged entity would have enough sway over the advertising market to cause concern, but concluded the parties' combined presence was too limited to warrant scrutiny.
That finding may surprise some agency readers given Network 10's scale, though Seven and Nine remain the dominant forces in Australian broadcast.
Market participants raised concerns that the merged entity could withhold programming from competitors, but the ACCC found it would lack the market muscle to pull it off, pointing to alternative suppliers including NBCUniversal, Sony, Lionsgate and local producers.
Germany signed off on foreign investment grounds in January. But the UK Competition and Markets Authority said this week it will formally open an investigation, with a deadline of August 7 to decide whether to escalate to a full Phase 2 review.
The EU is also scrutinising the transaction, with reports Paramount is weighing asset sales, potentially children's TV properties, to smooth that path.
The US Federal Communications Commission still needs to sign off, given CBS's broadcast stations are wrapped up in the deal.
A coalition of state attorneys general from California and New York is also reportedly preparing a legal challenge, with California's attorney general Rob Bonta confirming an active investigation.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the merger in April after Netflix abandoned a rival bid in February.
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