EU approves Paramount's WBD acquisition with conditions

However, the commission said the approval is conditional upon full compliance with commitments offered by Paramount – including withdrawing from Universal International Pictures (UIP), its film distribution joint venture with Universal.

The commission ruled that if UIP also distributed Warner films, “it would have led to worse rental and distribution terms for cinema operators, ultimately disadvantaging consumers.”

Paramount has pledged to terminate its stake in UIP in the European Economic Area (EEA) within 13 months of completing the transaction. For a period of 10 years, Paramount will also not jointly co-distribute films with Universal in the EEA.

The commission cleared the transaction from a production point of view, ruling that enough film studios remain as competitors in Europe, including Disney, NBC Universal, and Sony, along with smaller US studios such as Amazon MGM, A24, and Lionsgate, as well as European studios.

Regarding AV services such as TV channels and streaming, the commission also said enough alternative competitors remain “to exert sufficient competitive pressure on the merged entity in the EEA.”

As for the overlap in pay TV channels for children, the commission found that streaming platforms offering children's content will continue to act as a competitive constraint on merged Paramount-WBD’s TV channels.

The commission’s approval comes just weeks after a coalition of US states, including California, filed a lawsuit to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

Back in June, the US Justice Department’s Antitrust Division approved the deal.

In a written statement, Lisa Nandy, the UK’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, recently warned of the likelihood of UK intervention in Paramount’s $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. Discover more here.