Top TV comedy writer Michael Schur, co-creator of hit shows such as Parks and Rec and The Good Place, is sounding the alarm about the "existential" dangers of allowing the proposed $110 billion megamerger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to go through.
In an op-ed published Monday in The Hollywood Reporter, Schur outlined the downsides of megamergers between major Hollywood studios, which he described as "bad for everyone except those at the very top" and "another potential broadsword blow to an already wounded industry, one that’s been gouged and squeezed and strangled by high-level corporate greed."
Focusing on the challenges faced by writers, Schur wrote that people in his profession "felt the walls closing in" when they first heard news of Paramount's proposed purchase of Warner Bros.
"We know what this merger will mean," wrote Schur, "one less buyer for our work, less demand for writing services, less leverage to negotiate deal terms that recognize our value, less creative latitude... The impact will be concrete, measurable, and serious."
Schur explained that writers and other workers in the entertainment industry personally understand how corporate consolidation affects their livelihoods.
"We don’t have to theorize any of these outcomes," Schur wrote. "Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019 put them all on full display. After the merger, Fox’s television development operation was folded into Disney’s. Their studio’s priorities continued, Fox’s did not. Writers who had built relationships at Fox found themselves adrift... More than 4,000 Fox employees lost their jobs."
Schur concluded by encouraging opponents to the merger to "fight tooth and nail to sustain what is left of our struggling—but still breathing—creative industry" before it gets fully monopolized.
The combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. has long been controversial because it would put control of CBS, CNN, HBO, TikTok, and other major media properties all under the control of David Ellison, the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, a major donor to President Donald Trump.
The merger has been placed on hold amid multiple lawsuits seeking to block it, including one filed by 12 Democratic state attorneys general.
The New York Times reported on Monday that California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office has been leading the state AGs' antitrust complaint against the deal, called off a meeting that had been scheduled with Paramount executives to discuss a potential settlement.
In a statement, Bonta accused Paramount of leaking misleading information about settlement discussions between the parties, which he said demonstrated "a lack of good faith."
"As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely," Bonta said, "my office is happy to meet again."
