Writers Guild of America Opposes Warner Bros. Merger: A Call for Fair Competition
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has voiced strong opposition to any potential merger involving Warner Bros. and other studios, labeling it a “disaster” for writers and the industry at large. This statement comes just two days after Warner Bros. hinted at exploring “multiple offers,” with Paramount—recently acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance—emerging as a leading contender.
The WGA is concerned that such mergers would further reduce the number of buyers in the marketplace, ultimately harming writers and consumers alike. “Repeated mergers in the media sector have negatively impacted workers, stifled competition and free speech, and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars that could have been better utilized for organic growth,” the WGA East and West said in a joint statement.
The union is committed to collaborating with regulators to prevent this merger. Historically, the WGA has opposed numerous industry consolidations, including the failed Dish-DirecTV merger in 2002 and the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger in 2011. In each instance, the union raised concerns about the detrimental effects on the media landscape, warning that excessive consolidation threatens diversity and quality of content.
In 2016, the WGA also addressed “net neutrality” issues related to the AT&T-Time Warner merger, emphasizing the need for diverse voices and stories in the media. “At a time when the country needs a wide range of perspectives, we are handing control to media giants focused solely on maximizing short-term profits, rather than informing or entertaining the public,” the WGA East stated after the approval of that merger in 2018.
The WGA has been a vocal opponent of other significant mergers, such as Disney-Fox in 2017 and Amazon-MGM in 2021. They criticized the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger in 2022, which reversed the earlier AT&T merger, calling it a “clear disaster” for content creators who have lost jobs and for consumers facing a less diverse array of content options.
In light of these ongoing concerns, the WGA is advocating for stronger antitrust enforcement, cautioning that industry leaders like Disney, Netflix, and Amazon are poised to become the “new gatekeepers” of entertainment. As the media landscape evolves, the WGA remains dedicated to protecting writers’ rights and promoting a vibrant, competitive industry.
