It’s official — as of Friday, Paramount will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion. And yet, it’s difficult to view the settlement as calm after a storm. If anything, it feels as though the controversy is just barely getting started. 

For those not already consumed by an overwhelming sense of dread, let me explain. WBD  spent years struggling in debt,  compounded by declining cable viewership and brutal competition from streaming platforms. As a result, the company put itself up for sale in 2025, with Netflix moving first to secure a deal. However, Netflix backed out after its stocks fell, leaving Paramount free to swoop in — hence, this past week’s announcement.

This may seem like the usual back-and-forth of corporate America. However, the deal — which is likely to close in Q3 of this year — will cause a seismic shift in the entertainment industry and permanently alter the media landscape for the worse.

First, a combined Paramount-WBD corporation risks ushering the industry closer to a monopoly. With only a handful of major media conglomerates as is, Hollywood is already at the mercy of a very select few. Monopolies — aside from risking antitrust violations — constrict opportunities for employees and limit the diversity of content available.

Current WBD employees have already reported fear of job loss, according to CNBC. And there’s still a general uncertainty about the $64 billion in debt that comes with the deal. Production is already at a record low in Los Angeles. Adding on layoffs would only contribute to this crisis. And for college students — especially those of us in media studies — this is a daunting prospect. The new entrant unemployment rate is already at a nine-year high, a terrifying omen for graduates.

The stakes of eliminating industry positions extend well beyond Hollywood’s workforce. In 2025, Los Angeles County’s economy generated roughly $1 trillion in annual output, with film, television and music production forming one of its most globally influential industries. The entertainment industry anchors a vast ecosystem of jobs spanning post-production, tourism, marketing, legal services and tech. A lack of employment opportunities isn’t a niche industry problem. It’s a potential regional crisis. 

Democratic lawmakers have also raised red flags about the potential dominance of the cable channel space, currently owned mainly by WBD and Paramount Skydance Corp. Even though cable represents a declining market, a July 2025 Pew Research Center study found that 36% of Americans still tune in. On its own, mastery of the TV remote may seem like a relatively inconsequential issue. However, it speaks to a larger issue: monopolies reduce the diversity of media.

When the vast majority of what we see from legacy media outlets — whether that be movies, news channels or even reality shows — is controlled by a limited pool of competitors, the risk for bias skyrockets. 

In a 2010 working paper, University of Westminster Professor of Communications Steven Barnett wrote in a study on the negative impact of news monopolies, “Not only will fewer interests be represented but there will be fewer opportunities for elites to be held properly to account: less opportunity to ‘tell truth to power.’” 

Healthy media landscapes rely on our freedom to speak out against those in charge. But when those in charge consolidate their influence, that becomes increasingly difficult.

This power struggle over the media is already playing out. The administration has repeatedly attacked the WBD-owned CNN for disseminating “fake news.” Meanwhile, as of August 2025, Paramount is led by David Ellison. Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, is one of President Donald Trump’s biggest allies and megadonors.

Now that the deal is underway, mass resignations and firings at the news company seem all but inevitable. Now, they’ll have yet another avenue to silence reporters, pull critical programming and fire those who object. Not only does this deal risk putting the everyday people of Hollywood at risk, but it also opens the door to any opposition being systematically silenced. 

Yet, the repercussions could expand beyond just CNN. Throughout this year, we’ve already seen how far the Trump administration is willing to go over bad PR, including a ten billion dollar lawsuit against the BBC for alleged defamation and unfair trade practices as well as another $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times.

But all is not lost. This deal must first be reviewed by the government. The California Department of Justice’s formal investigation is now open, and public comments matter — particularly from constituents in states with a direct stake in the outcome — just like California. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office is actively building a case and has made it clear it wants to hear from Californians invested in the future of the entertainment industry. Find your home state representative, find Bonta’s office and say something while the window is still open. Your voice matters.

If Hollywood has taught us anything, it’s that fairytale endings can happen. For the sake of preserving the industry USC students work so hard to break into, let’s make this story one of them.