Ari Emanuel Backs Paramount-WBD Merger, Dismisses Antitrust Suit as Trash

Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO Group and longtime Hollywood power broker, published a Wall Street Journal op-ed defending Paramount’s planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and labeling the states’ antitrust lawsuit against the deal as “trash.” He argues the merger could save Hollywood, contends that competition comes from Netflix, Netflix-related and other digital players, YouTube, and upcoming streaming projects rather than just traditional studios, and accuses regulators of ignoring real competition in a streaming-enabled market. The piece also notes the delay imposes a quarterly $650 million ticking fee on Paramount and underscores Emanuel’s stance that antitrust actions should not be used to settle policy disputes.