Britain has cleared Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing one of the largest remaining regulatory obstacles to a deal that would combine two major global entertainment companies.
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority announced Thursday that it had approved the proposed acquisition following a Phase 1 investigation. The regulator concluded that the transaction would not substantially reduce competition in three areas it examined: movie distribution, children’s television channels and streaming services.
The British government separately said it would not intervene on public-interest or foreign-state influence grounds after Paramount provided legally binding commitments addressing concerns surrounding British media operations.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison agreed to commitments lasting at least five years covering programming commissioned in Britain and the editorial independence of Channel 5 News. The combined company’s linear television networks and streaming services would also retain distinct editorial identities during that period, including children’s networks Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
Channel 5 would continue operating as a British public service broadcaster through the expiration of its current license at the end of 2034. Its news operation would remain editorially separate from CNN International and CBS News, both of which would become part of the broader company following completion of the transaction.
Paramount also committed not to reduce the number of employees responsible for commissioning British programming or diminish the quality and range of content commissioned in the country. News archives associated with CNN, CBS and Channel 5 would remain available to qualified licensees under standard commercial arrangements.
The decisions remove the prospect of more extensive regulatory proceedings in Britain. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had previously indicated that the government could intervene over public-interest concerns despite the transaction receiving approvals in several other jurisdictions.
The deal still faces litigation from a group of U.S. states led by California, which Reuters described as the principal remaining obstacle to closing the transaction. Paramount called the British competition clearance an important step toward completing the acquisition.
If completed, the transaction would bring Warner Bros. Discovery’s film, television, cable and streaming assets together with Paramount Skydance’s existing entertainment portfolio, marking another major consolidation of the global media industry.
