{"success":true,"data":{"id":"5d93b3e9-0a37-4b84-826f-36b5671b6ce6","title":"Paramount CEO confident on Warner Bros. merger — as actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming call for UK to block it","summary":"Paramount CEO David Ellison said Monday that he’s “highly confident” his company will win its antitrust case and merge with Warner Bros. Discovery — as actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong push the UK government to block it.","content":"# Paramount CEO confident on Warner Bros. merger — as actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming call for UK to block it\n\nParamount CEO David Ellison said Monday that he’s “highly confident” his company will win its antitrust case and merge with Warner Bros. Discovery — as actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong push the UK government to block it.\n\nEllison told staffers in a note obtained by The Post that Paramount, home to CBS, Paramount Pictures, MTV and Nickelodeon, has complied with antitrust laws, citing various clearances from different regulatory bodies and governments.\n\n“Over the past several months, our leadership team and legal partners have worked closely with antitrust and competition authorities around the world,” he said. “As a result regulatory bodies and governments representing 65 jurisdictions — including the European Commission, Australia, China, the US, Germany, France, Spain, Canada and South Korea — have either cleared the transaction or elected not to challenge it on cometition and/ or foreign direct investment grounds.”\n\nParamount CEO David Ellison told staffers that he’s “highly confident” his company will prevail in its antirust lawsuit. AFP via Getty Images\n\nEllison added that absent the [lawsuit filed by 12 US states, led by California](https://nypost.com/2026/07/13/business/california-sues-to-block-110b-paramount-warner-bros-merger/), and a separate [suit from the Writers Guild of America](https://nypost.com/2026/07/14/business/wga-filing-lawsuit-to-block-paramounts-81m-wbd-merger-in-latest-acquisition-challenge/), Paramount would have been able to close the deal in the coming weeks.\n\n“Let me be clear: we remain highly confident that this transaction does not pose any legal issues, and we will complete it and bring these two companies together,” he said, [before acknowledging that the deal is on pause.](https://nypost.com/2026/07/24/media/paramount-agrees-to-pause-110b-warner-bros-deal-while-states-lawsuit-plays-out/)“For not it remains business as usual.”\n\n## Explore More\n\nOn Friday, [Paramount agreed not to close the takeover until](https://nypost.com/2026/07/24/media/paramount-agrees-to-pause-110b-warner-bros-deal-while-states-lawsuit-plays-out/) the court decides whether the deal violates antitrust laws. The merger deal expires on June 4, 2027 if the deal hasn’t closed by that date.\n\nBenedict Cumberbatch, along with Benedict Wong and Alan Cumming\n\nurged the UK government to block the merger of Parmount and WBD. David Benthal/BFA.com/Shutterstock\n\nMeanwhile, actors Cumberbatch, Wong and Cumming penned an [op-ed in “The Guardian”](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ng-interactive/2026/jul/27/tv-cinema-paramount-warner-bros-merger-benedict-cumberbatch-alan-cumming-benedict-wong) on Monday, pushing the UK government to stop the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, saying it “threatens to inflict immense harm on the British public.”\n\nThe letter, which was addressed to culture minister Lisa Nandy, said that her intervention could be “prove one of the most important decisions any culture secretary has taken for UK film, television and media in a generation.”\n\nIn the letter, which is titled, “A TV and cinema calamity could be disastrous for what you watch and what you know. Act now to stop that,” they argued that the $110 billion merger will result in “redundancies, cancelled productions, fewer films commissioned and fewer risks taken.”\n\nCumming and his fellow actors said the deal “threatens to inflict immense harm on the British public.” PA Images via Getty Images\n\nThe move comes after Nandy told the UK Parliament that she is “minded to intervene” in the takeover, but she has yet to make a final decision on whether to submit the union to a full public interest probe.\n\nShe is expected to reach a conclusion when Parliament returns from its summer break in September.\n\n“Nandy has opened the door to intervention,” Cumberbatch, Cumming and Wong wrote. “She must walk through it, for the sake of everyone who makes UK television and film – and everyone who watches it. If she does not, we will be left without the ability to protect our industry and our culture from this consolidation. We must not push the public’s interest aside; we must stand up for it and block this merger.”\n\nSome of the issues that the actors — who have all starred in big budget Marvel flicks — cited concern the livelihoods of British film and TV crews, independent film financing and the consolidation of news publications.\n\nThe merger — if approved — would combine Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., as well as streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max and networks CBS and CNN.\n\nIn the letter, Wong, Cummings and Cumberbatch appealed to \n\nculture minister Lisa Nandy to blocl the merger. Getty Images for Tribeca Festival\n\nWhat do you think?[Be the first to comment.](https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/media/paramount-ceo-confident-on-warner-bros-merger-antitrust-case-as-actors-like-benedict-cumberbatch-alan-cumming-call-for-uk-to-block-it/#nypost-openweb-conversation)\n\nLast week the [European Commission approved the Paramount-Warner Bros.merger](https://nypost.com/2026/07/22/media/paramount-wins-eu-greenlight-for-110b-acquisition-of-warner-bros-discovery/), but with some conditions.\n\nThey also noted that the deal would “raise prices, shrink the number of films made and degrade the quality of what audiences see.”\n\nFiled under\n\nSPONSORED STORIES\n\nAround The Web\n\n#### Trending Now  ON NYPOST.com\n\n*   [![Image 28: Netflix exec goes ballistic after being fired for stunning ‘trust exercise’ confession at ranch retreat: suit](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/netflix-exec-ketamine-firing-trust-exercise-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/netflix-exec-goes-ballistic-after-being-fired-for-stunning-trust-exercise-confession-at-retreat-suit/)This story has been shared 88,158 times.88,158   ### [Netflix exec goes ballistic after being fired for stunning ‘trust exercise’ confession at ranch retreat: suit](https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/netflix-exec-goes-ballistic-after-being-fired-for-stunning-trust-exercise-confession-at-retreat-suit/) \n*   [![Image 29: California sailor missing for over a month in the Pacific Ocean is suddenly found drifting off Hawaii](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/ship-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/california-man-stranded-on-sailboat-survives-month-at-sea/)This story has been shared 59,237 times.59,237   ### [California sailor missing for over a month in the Pacific Ocean is suddenly found drifting off Hawaii](https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/us-news/california-man-stranded-on-sailboat-survives-month-at-sea/) \n*   [![Image 30: NBA star blasts Mamdani for ‘cosplaying’ as ‘a mayor playing president’ after Netanyahu arrest fail](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/kuzma-mamdani-netanyahu-cosplaying-video-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/us-news/nba-star-kyle-kuzma-blasts-mamdani-for-cosplaying-as-president-after-netanyahu-arrest-fail/)This story has been shared 55,010 times.55,010   ### [NBA star blasts Mamdani for ‘cosplaying’ as ‘a mayor playing president’ after Netanyahu arrest fail](https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/us-news/nba-star-kyle-kuzma-blasts-mamdani-for-cosplaying-as-president-after-netanyahu-arrest-fail/) \n\n## Now on Page Six\n\n## Now on  Decider\n\n Paramount CEO David Ellison told staffers that he's \"highly confident\" his company will prevail in its antirust lawsuit. AFP via Getty Images\n\n Cumming and his fellow actors said the deal \"threatens to inflict immense harm on the British public.\" PA Images via Getty Images\n\nYou are viewing**1** of **4**images Previous Image Next Image\n\n## More Stories\n\n### Page Six\n\n### Decider\n\n### NYPost","source_name":"New York Post","source_url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/media/paramount-ceo-confident-on-warner-bros-merger-antitrust-case-as-actors-like-benedict-cumberbatch-alan-cumming-call-for-uk-to-block-it/","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/27/media/paramount-ceo-confident-on-warner-bros-merger-antitrust-case-as-actors-like-benedict-cumberbatch-alan-cumming-call-for-uk-to-block-it/","author":"Alexandra Steigrad","author_name":"Alexandra Steigrad","published_at":"2026-07-27T16:41:23.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-27T16:41:23.000Z","image_url":"https://images.outbrainimg.com/transform/v3/eyJpdSI6ImYwZmQxNjE2YzdlNGMyZDNlZjQzY2Q2ZmQzNDE5YTA4NGViMWQ0N2I4ZGVlMjk5MTI3NDFkOTBmZjZkN2Q0OGIiLCJ3Ijo5MCwiaCI6NjAsImQiOjEuMCwiY3MiOjAsImYiOjR9.webp","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":5,"word_count":942,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot","language":null}}