LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For more on this lawsuit, we're joined by Attorney General of California Rob Bonta. Thank you so much for joining me.
ROB BONTA: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
FADEL: So I want to start with the decision, why you took this decision to sue.
BONTA: This proposed merger breaks the law. And it's my job to enforce the laws of the state of California, including antitrust law. And it's my duty and obligation to challenge this proposed merger because it violates antitrust law, which will have massive harms to consumers across the country and in California. Prices will go up, the quality of TV series and films will go down and the amount of content will be reduced. So all of the anticompetitive impacts that you might expect from an unlawful proposed merger.
FADEL: Now, Paramount said the lawsuit, quote, "is wrong on both the facts and the law," and that delaying the transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood. How do you respond?
BONTA: Not a surprise. I mean, it's the spin you'd expect from the players in an unlawful proposed merger. They're saying the exact opposite of what's true. Workers are going to be harmed, wages will go down, jobs will be lost. And to say that this is good for workers - ask the workers. What are they saying? They don't think this is good.
So it's a self-serving statement by Paramount and Warner Brothers. And look, this is a $110 billion merger. We've seen what happens when there is consolidation in a marketplace. Prices go up, quality goes down, choice goes down, competition goes down. It's bad for consumers, often bad for workers.
FADEL: Have they reached out at all? Has Paramount offered any concessions to the deal in exchange for dropping this lawsuit?
BONTA: The only statement that I've heard from them is their published statement, the self-serving conclusory one that I vehemently disagree with. And, you know, there's always an opportunity to have discussions if they're in good faith and if they can address concerns. But we felt, based on the law and the facts, that our only option, and the best option, was to take them to court.
FADEL: California has been part of bipartisan antitrust lawsuits in the past involving Ticketmaster, Live Nation. All of the other states, though, in this case that have joined the lawsuit are also Democratic-run states. Why do you think that is?
BONTA: I'll say it's early. It might be that some red states, you know, Republican AGs do join. This is a strong case. I do know that we were side by side with many red states, Republican AGs in the Ticketmaster-Live Nation case. We are side by side with red states, Republican AGs in the Nexstar-Tegna case. And we hope for the possibility of being right side by side with red states and Republican AGs in this case. But that's up to them. You know, this is a question for them.
FADEL: What about Paramount's argument that there is still competition from streaming giants like Netflix, Apple, Amazon?
BONTA: We're not even suing based on the streaming market, so that is neither here nor there. But we are suing based on three markets. Distribution of wide released theatrical films, that's one market. The second market is distribution of top grossing theatrical films, blockbusters, if you will. And the third is the licensing of basic cable channels to distributors. So I think they're missing the mark by a lot by talking about streamers 'cause that's not what our case is about.
FADEL: That's Attorney General of California Rob Bonta. Thank you so much for taking the time.
BONTA: Thank you for having me.
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