Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (): On 30 June 2026, my Department
wrote to Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery on my behalf,
informing them under the Enterprise Act public interest regime
that I was minded to intervene in the proposed merger between the
two companies and I issued a Written Ministerial
Statement(opens in a new tab) setting this out.
The parties were given the opportunity to make representations to
me by 6 July in response to my concerns. Paramount put forward a
set of assurances seeking to address the issues I raised. 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 my favour.
On 6 August, the Competition and Markets Authority announced
their decision that there are no competition aspects of this
proposed merger in the UK which necessitate their further
intervention.
In parallel, after careful consideration, I decided not to issue
a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) on the basis that
the assurances and further legally-binding commitments I secured
from Paramount provide a set of protections that will help
safeguard the continued availability of a diverse range of
broadcasting and on-demand services in the UK; the continuation
of their distinct editorial identities; and the distinct
editorial identities of key UK news programmes. Paramount has
committed to providing me with annual statements of compliance
with the undertakings in the deed, and DCMS will closely monitor
their implementation. In the circumstances, I have decided to
accept the deed and have informed the parties of my decision. A
copy of my Public Statement issued on 6 August, the letter of
assurances from Paramount and the Deed can be found on gov.uk(opens in a new tab)
here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-statement-proposed-acquisition-of-warner-bros-discovery-by-paramount-decision-of-no-intervention-on-public-interest-intervention-or-foreign-sta(opens
in a new tab).
Having made this decision and informed the parties, I made a
public statement on 6 August and wish to formally update
Parliament of my decisions now that it has returned from Summer
Recess.
I have made this decision based on the specific powers currently
available to me under the Enterprise Act 2002, which only relate
to matters concerning the UK broadcasting and news media
landscape. As set out in the "Watch this Space" Green Paper
published on 23 June, the media sector is undergoing a profound
and rapid transformation. I believe it is of the utmost
importance to protect plurality, diversity and distinct British
voices across our wider creative industries, including film, and
I share the concerns about the impact consolidation could have on
the UK's creative industries.
I have met with Paramount CEO David Ellison to obtain specific
assurances about the impact of this proposed deal on film outputs
and diversity of content. I look forward to continuing to work
with both Paramount and sector leaders to ensure that our world
leading creative industries feel real benefits as a result of
these discussions. Beyond this, as set out in my Public
Statement, I am also considering all avenues to ensure the
government has the ability to protect plurality, diversity and
British content when it is under threat.
Video-on-demand services
In my previous Written Ministerial Statement, I noted that should
I decide to intervene in this case, I would bring forward
secondary legislation to amend the plurality of control public
interest consideration set out in the Enterprise Act, to enable
Ofcom to examine the impact of the proposed acquisition on
video-on-demand services. While DCMS will no longer be bringing
forward secondary legislation in relation to this specific
merger, I may do so in future, given the role on-demand viewing
now plays in the market.
Foreign State Influence regime
Having considered the proposed merger under the statutory Foreign
State Influence regime, I have concluded that I do not have
reasonable grounds to suspect that my duty to issue a Foreign
State Intervention Notice has arisen. I am therefore currently
not minded to intervene in this case. I will reassess the
position if any new information comes to light suggesting
otherwise.
