Newsom backs Paramount-Warner settlement amid studio relocation threat
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Gavin Newsom's public backing for a settlement in the Paramount-Warner Bros. antitrust dispute now places him alongside other prominent California Democrats, aligning him with gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has urged both sides to "come to the table" and find common ground. The California governor also addressed, for the first time on record, a threat from Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison to relocate one or two major studios out of the state if the case brought by a 12-state coalition is not resolved by October, saying he was taking the warning "seriously" while hoping it would not come to pass.
Newsom made the remarks at a San Francisco press appearance on Friday, reiterating that settlement talks were unfolding "in real time" amid what he described as numerous ongoing meetings between the parties. He stressed that any deal must also satisfy the wider coalition of states represented by Attorney General Rob Bonta, not California alone, and said he was mindful of the potential consequences for the state's jobs and its reputation as a hub for the entertainment industry.
- Newsom now aligned with Becerra and Mayor Bass in urging a settlement
- He is taking Ellison's threat to relocate studios seriously
- Any deal must satisfy the full 12-state coalition, not just California
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Political and legal wrangling over Hollywood's future is coming to a head. Paramount and Warner Bros are locked in an antitrust dispute, and California's governor, Gavin Newsom, has now publicly backed efforts to settle it. The case involves a coalition of 12 US states, meaning any resolution has to satisfy more than just California's interests.
The row has taken on extra weight because David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, has warned he could move one or two major studios out of California if the dispute isn't settled by October. That threat matters because the entertainment industry is a major source of jobs and identity for the state, so any relocation would be a significant economic and symbolic blow.
Newsom's intervention puts him in step with other senior California Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both of whom have also called for the two sides to negotiate. The state's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, represents the wider group of states pursuing the case, so his position is central to whether a settlement can be reached that all parties accept.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of a negotiated settlement argue that safeguarding California's entertainment jobs, tax revenue and its standing as the industry's global hub is a legitimate and pressing governance priority, particularly when a chief executive has explicitly linked the case's resolution to relocation decisions. They contend that a swift, well-crafted deal can still secure meaningful competitive safeguards while avoiding the drawn-out uncertainty of litigation, which itself risks accelerating the departures it seeks to prevent. On this view, pragmatic dealmaking that keeps studios and livelihoods rooted in the state is a responsible use of political influence, not a retreat from principle.
The case against
Those wary of a rushed settlement argue that antitrust enforcement exists precisely to check concentrated market power on its legal merits, and that bending to a company's relocation threat risks setting a precedent where corporate leverage, rather than the law, dictates regulatory outcomes. They point out that the case was brought by a twelve-state coalition, not California alone, and worry that political pressure to settle quickly could shortchange consumers, competitors or workers elsewhere in favour of protecting one state's economic interests. For this camp, a resolution reached under a business-imposed deadline undermines confidence that the process was driven by evidence rather than expediency.
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Originally published by The Hollywood Reporter as “Gavin Newsom Says Paramount Settlement Talks Happening In “Real Time,” Signals He’d Like a Deal”.