FCC Chair Carr says California could drop lawsuit against Paramount, Warner Bros. merger if CNN is spun off

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

07/15/26 1:06 PM ET


Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr said Wednesday California could drop its joint lawsuit against Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery if CNN is spun off as its own media entity.

“There was a story that broke a couple weeks ago that said that California was floating the idea, according to news reports, of dropping all antitrust litigation if there was one condition that was met, which is that the purchase involved was spinning off of CNN,” Carr told The Hill’s Julia Manchester, noting that he doubts if the legal challenge will be successful.

He added he did not “understand what antitrust theory you have that says there’s a problem with this acquisition that is made or broken based on one cable channel being included.” “So, I think it’s a bit of a tell that this really isn’t a legitimate antitrust case, but ultimately, that’ll be up for the courts to decide,” the FCC chair continued.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) was among 12 state attorneys general who filed a joint lawsuit Monday seeking to block the pending takeover. They argue that the deal violates antitrust law and would enhance Paramount’s power to set terms with theaters and cable channel distributors, while causing consumer prices to rise.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5969820-fcc-chair-cnn-spinoff-rumor/

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REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143694810

[ToxMarz]

1. Sounds to me like FCC Chair Carr may just be floating some trial ballons

or head fakes.

"There was a story that broke a couple weeks ago.." sounds a lot like Trump's infamous "Many people are saying..."

[kysrsoze]

2. Agree. He's full of shit. That is not any Bonta and other states are suing.

Add to that the sleight of hand move this week where the FCC looks to change the rules surrounding how many local stations can be owned by a single entity.

[pat_k]

3. Spot on.

I can't imagine any scenario in which this sort of "settlement" would be floated before any court weighed on on the multistate lawsuit.

Wishful thinking.

Maybe he saw some random post from some random poster on social media floating this. But I doubt it has even that as a basis.

[thesquanderer]

4. Doesn't understand why one channel could be the biggest issue??

One company having control over two of the biggest news providers (CBS and CNN), duh.

[68er]

5. Glad to know he's nervous enough about the suit's merits that he's floating trial balloons...

...as turd-laden as they may be.