LONDON: Britain said Tuesday it could intervene in the USD 110 billion Paramount Warner deal over concerns about media plurality, streaming services and children’s television.
Culture Minister Lisa Nandy gave Paramount Skydance Corp. and Warner Bros Discovery until July 6 to respond to the UK government’s concerns.
The proposed takeover has already been cleared by the United States, China, Australia, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.
A formal public-interest intervention notice would trigger reviews by the UK media regulator, Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority.
The CMA is already reviewing the transaction and is due to decide by August 7 whether to open a deeper probe.
Read: Paramount Warner Bros Discovery Acquisition: $111 Billion Bid Wins
Nandy said the deal could affect news, children’s television and streaming services in Britain. Paramount owns UK free-to-air broadcaster Channel 5, while Warner owns CNN International.
The Reuters Institute Digital News Report said Channel 5 had a weekly reach of 3%, while CNN International had a weekly reach of 2%.
Nandy said Paramount and Warner were Britain’s second and third biggest providers of children’s linear content behind the BBC.
The companies’ combined on-demand reach could be 19% after the deal, though Paramount+ and HBO Max remain smaller players in a streaming market led by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
Paramount said Tuesday it believed the deal raised no media plurality issues and remained confident in its timeline, while Warner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
