DGA Monthly

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 I 5 DGA & I.A.T.S.E. Send Joint Letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Paramount Skydance Chairman & CEO David Ellison Regarding the Proposed Paramount /Warner Bros. Discovery Merger On August 12, the DGA and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada (I.A.T.S.E.), sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Paramount Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison to raise concerns about the potential for a prolonged timetable for the litigation related to the proposed merger of Paramount Skydance Corporation ("Paramount") and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. ("WBD"). The letter expressed the importance that they engage directly with each other to negotiate a resolution that ameliorates the anti-competitive aspects of the proposed merger, or if that is not possible, seeking to move the start of the trial to an earlier date. In the letter, DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander and I.A.T.S.E. International President Matthew D. Loeb stated, "Should such an agreement prove impossible, we would ask that both parties seek to move the start of the trial to an earlier date, as continued delay and uncertainty around the future of WBD only harms our members. We cannot overemphasize how damaging the current timeline for the trial — which would extend the uncertainty surrounding the proposed merger until the spring of next year at the earliest — is to an already struggling industry. As our members struggle to find employment, the uncertainty surrounding the proposed merger is only making matters worse. We are aware of productions that have been put on hold or canceled altogether, leading to further reductions in available work for our members and other industry workers." Emphasizing the fact that with film and television production down worldwide, DGA and I.A.T.S.E. members struggle to find employment and the uncertainty surrounding the proposed merger is only making matters worse. The letter stated that many of the concerns about the proposed merger could be addressed through the imposition of enforceable conditions in a binding agreement including: • The maintenance of Paramount and WBD motion picture studios as separate studios, with each studio maintaining its own production, distribution, marketing and exhibition groups as distinct divisions; • The production and distribution by each motion picture studio of a minimum of 15 theatrical films per year with an exclusive theatrical window of at least 45 days (preferably 60 days or more) before PVOD exploitation and 120 days before SVOD exhibition; • An agreement that Paramount and WBD will continue to license theatrical films from third parties at no less than the average percentage of films licensed from third parties over the past five years (excluding 2020 and 2023); • The maintenance of HBO as a linear pay television channel that will continue to be available on third party platforms (e.g., MVPDs and Amazon video); • A commitment that Paramount and WBD will continue to be sellers in the marketplace; and, • A commitment that Paramount will continue to be based in Los Angeles. • The full list of conditions is available on www.dga.org. Hollander and Loeb further emphasized the Guild's expectations, stating: "Our goal, with respect to the proposed merger, has always been to achieve an outcome that ensures a vibrant, competitive marketplace for the production, distribution, and licensing of film and television programming that serves the interests of consumers and filmmakers alike. We believe that these conditions, if secured through a binding agreement, will largely serve this purpose." See the full letter online in the Guild News section of www.dga.org.

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