UK Launches Formal Probe Into Paramount’s $110 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Deal

On June 9, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority opened a formal investigation into Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The CMA launched phase one of a merger inquiry into the planned acquisition, setting August 7 as the deadline for its preliminary decision.

The investigation isn’t exactly a surprise. Paramount has been playing regulatory whack-a-mole since the deal was announced in February, and the CMA is just the latest body swinging the mallet.

The Paramount–WBD Deal

The CMA’s initial period of investigation officially begins on 10 June 2026 — the first working day after the commencement notice was issued — giving the watchdog until 7 August to decide whether to refer the merger for a more detailed phase two review.

Under phase one, the CMA will determine whether the Paramount–Warner pact poses a “realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.” A phase two investigation, if triggered, can last for more than five months. That timeline would put Paramount’s hope of closing in Q3 2026 into serious doubt. And it would cost them. Should the transaction remain unclosed come October, Paramount faces daily payments to its shareholders that the company has put at approximately $6.9 million.

According to Variety, the CMA had already invited interested parties to submit views on the deal’s competitive impact back in April, which fed directly into the decision to open this formal inquiry. Together, Paramount and WBD would control a portfolio that includes Game of Thrones, Mission: Impossible, Harry Potter, Top Gun, the DC Universe, and SpongeBob SquarePants. That’s a lot of IP under one roof — and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have taken notice.

The CMA isn’t the only one paying attention. Earlier this month, it was reported that several US states — including California and New York — are preparing a lawsuit in an attempt to block the merger on antitrust grounds. California Attorney General Rob Bonta‘s argument: mergers of this scale tend to result in higher prices, job cuts, and fewer options for consumers. The European Commission is also reviewing the merger, with the organisation setting a July 7 deadline to arrive at a decision. So the UK is arriving fashionably late to a party that’s been going on for months.

David Ellison‘s Paramount Skydance beat out Netflix in a prolonged bidding war, with WBD shareholders voting to approve the merger in April 2026. For UK audiences specifically, the stakes are concrete: Max and Paramount+ are expected to merge into a single streaming service post-acquisition, which will likely affect pricing and content availability for UK subscribers. No UK-specific terms have been confirmed yet, and the CMA’s investigation is very much a live situation for British consumers.

House of the Dragon fans may want to keep a close eye on this one too. WBD’s UK content slate — including HBO programming already streaming in the UK — sits squarely in the middle of whatever the new combined entity decides to prioritize after any regulatory sign-off.

We’ll keep you posted on updates about the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger as it develops.