12 states sue Paramount over Warner takeover, say merger would 'extinguish competition' - CBC

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said she is "minded to intervene" in the proposed £1.6bn deal for Sky to buy ITV's media and entertainment division. Nandy said there were reasonable grounds to believe the deal could affect free expression in the media and the variety of Britain's news landscape. Sky said it would "carefully consider" a letter from the culture secretary and "engage constructively" with the review into the deal. "We remain confident that bringing Sky and ITV's media and entertainment business together will create a stronger British media," it said. ITV welcomed the letter and said the deal would help it "compete with global streaming platforms, benefiting viewers, advertisers and the UK creative industries". The two companies announced in July that Sky had agreed to buy ITV's broadcasting business, including its free-to-air TV channels and the ITV X streaming service. The deal does not include ITV's production arm, ITV Studios, which makes popular programmes such as Love Island and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. It would give Sky access to millions more viewers, while bosses hope it would help both compete with streaming giants such as Netflix.

CHICAGO — It’s official: Skydance-owned Paramount closed its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, ushering in a new Hollywood giant. The merger brings two of America’s oldest moviemaking studios together under a new name: Skydance. The deal, which followed a tumultuous, roughly yearlong fight, further concentrates power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players.