1 month ago
Film Producers Urge UK to Block Paramount‑Warner Merger
A group of film producers is worried that a big deal between two Hollywood companies, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, will put two huge news archives under one owner.
These archives hold millions of old news clips that documentary filmmakers use.
The producers fear the new owner might refuse to let filmmakers use the footage, especially if the film shows the news company in a bad light.
They have asked the UK culture minister, Lisa Nandy, to look into the deal and make sure the archives stay open.
The UK government has already said it is concerned about media diversity and is reviewing the merger.
The producers want the government to make sure the archives stay available for future documentaries.
Film producers urge UK culture minister to intervene in Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros Discovery merger to safeguard access to news archives.
The merger would combine CNN’s 4 million‑asset archive and CBS News’s 85‑year archive under one owner for the first time.
Producers warn that a single owner could refuse to license footage, limiting documentary makers’ ability to tell stories about war, elections and civil rights.
The British government has already expressed concerns about media plurality and has begun an antitrust review under the Enterprise Act 2002.
The Archival Producers Alliance, representing over 650 specialists, has requested a formal investigation and conditions to preserve archive access.
- Who
- Film producers, UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy, Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros Discovery
- What
- Merger could restrict access to CNN and CBS news archives
- Where
- United Kingdom, involving U.S. companies
- When
- Merger proposal announced June 2024; antitrust review to conclude August 7, 2024
- Why
- To protect documentary makers’ access to historical footage and maintain media plurality
Key facts
- Merger parties
- Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery
- Archives involved
- CNN and CBS News
- Concerned group
- Archival Producers Alliance
- Government body
- UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy
- Review deadline
- August 7, 2024
Quotes
Archival Producers Alliance
Association representing 650 film archivists worldwide
“If the combined entity declines to license material because it dislikes a film's framing, its politics, or its portrayal of the company's own talent, UK producers could find it close to impossible to access that material.”
CNBC TV 18
“If a news organization refuses to release footage, there is often no other way to get it, the group wrote.”
CNBC TV 18
British government
UK Culture Minister’s office
“Consolidating the CNN and CBS archives under a single corporate owner places the world's two largest privately held broadcast news collections under unified ownership for the first time, the British government said in letters to the companies on June 30.”
CNBC TV 18
Sources
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