UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who kept her post when ally Andy Burnham became Prime Minister this week, now faces a string of decisions that could significantly affect major American media companies, according to analysis. Her choices on media mergers and broadcasting funding come at a delicate moment, as Burnham seeks to maintain the smooth relations with the Trump administration built up by his predecessor, Keir Starmer, and any misstep could unsettle US studios, streamers and tech firms alike.

Nandy allowed the deadline to pass on intervening in Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery's $110 billion merger, meaning British regulators cannot decide whether to probe or approve it before 1 September at the earliest; a delay is costly for WBD, whose deal includes a "ticking fee" of 25 cents a share, roughly $650 million, for every quarter beyond Q3 that it remains unfinished. Separately, Nandy appears to back a contentious BBC proposal to extend the £180 licence fee to streaming subscribers such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, a plan the Motion Picture Association has criticised for its likely impact on viewers, even though fewer than 80% of UK households currently pay the fee despite 94% using BBC services monthly.