DCMS Weighs Ofcom-CMA Probe of Paramount-WBD Deal

The UK government has not stopped Paramount Skydance Corporation's planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. What it has done, in a letter published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 30 June 2026, is say it is minded to take the deal down a fuller public interest route, with Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority brought in to examine the case. If that sounds procedural, the public question underneath it is quite plain: when one company gets much bigger across television, streaming and news, do audiences lose choice in who controls what they watch? (gov.uk) The scale of the proposed merger helps explain why ministers are looking closely. According to the DCMS letter, Paramount announced the deal on 27 February 2026, saying it would buy 100% of Warner Bros Discovery for $31 a share in cash, plus a ticking fee, valuing the transaction at $81 billion in equity value and $110 billion in enterprise value. Warner Bros Discovery then said on 23 April 2026 that shareholders had overwhelmingly approved it, with completion expected in the third quarter of 2026 subject to regulatory clearances and other conditions. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The most important phrase in this story is 'minded to'. In government merger language, that means ministers are saying, 'we think there may be a public interest issue here, but we have not made the final call yet'. In this case, the Secretary of State invited written representations from the parties by 9am on 6 July 2026 before deciding whether to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice, often shortened to PIIN. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) **What this means:** a minded-to letter is not the same thing as a final referral. If a PIIN is issued, Ofcom would report on the media public interest questions and the CMA would report on merger jurisdiction and any competition issues. Only after those phase 1 reports come back can the Secretary of State decide whether to send the case for a deeper phase 2 investigation, or instead accept undertakings from the companies. (gov.uk)

Why does this deal stand out? Because it would bring a huge amount of media under one owner. In the UK, Paramount already owns Channel 5 and a portfolio including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV, while Warner Bros Discovery owns channels including CNN International, TNT Sports channels and Cartoon Network. On streaming, the businesses span Paramount+, Pluto TV, 5, Discovery+ and HBO Max. The DCMS letter says the merger would place these channels and services under a single person with control. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) That matters because media merger reviews are not only about whether one business can outmuscle another on price. In media cases, ministers can also ask whether too much influence over programmes and news could end up concentrated in too few hands. The government's own consultation on updating the media mergers regime says the Secretary of State can intervene where a relevant merger situation may arise and one or more public interest considerations in section 58 of the Enterprise Act 2002 may be relevant. (gov.uk)

The first concern set out by DCMS is plurality of control across media services. The letter says Warner Bros Discovery currently has 30 linear channels broadcasting in the UK and Paramount has 20. By linear television, officials mean ordinary scheduled channels rather than on-demand libraries. Using DCMS analysis of BARB data for 2025, the department says Paramount's weekly share of identified live linear viewing is 7.2% and Warner Bros Discovery's is 4.9%; together, that would be 12.1%, ahead of Sky and Channel 4, making the combined group the third largest linear broadcaster in the UK by audience share. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) **Why children are part of this review:** DCMS says Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery are already the second and third biggest providers of children's linear content in the UK by audience reach. The letter says the merged company could end up controlling a significant share of children's channels, and ministers are worried that later consolidation could reduce an already limited part of the market. Paramount has told DCMS it has no plans for material UK changes to WBD's channels or on-demand services because of the transaction, but the Secretary of State says the concern remains. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

Streaming is another reason this case is interesting. The letter uses the legal term ODPS, meaning on-demand programme services, and says the combined entity would immediately reach about 19.0% of the UK population on that measure, even before counting HBO Max data. DCMS also notes comments by Paramount chief executive David Ellison about merging HBO Max and Paramount+, which the department says could reduce diversity further if it happened. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) There is also a quiet but important legal wrinkle here. The letter says the audience-plurality test it wants to use for on-demand programme services is not currently specified in section 58 of the Enterprise Act. If the Secretary of State does issue a PIIN on that ground, she would then have to move to get that consideration specified and approved by Parliament within 28 sitting days. For you as a reader, that is a useful reminder that media law is still catching up with the way people actually watch television in 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The second public interest concern is about plurality of views in news. Paramount owns CBS News in the US and Channel 5 News in the UK, although Channel 5 News is produced by ITN. Warner Bros Discovery owns CNN Worldwide and CNN International. DCMS says those news operations would come under common ownership if the merger completes. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The Secretary of State says she is not aware of concrete plans to change WBD's services or Channel 5 News, but still thinks future consolidation is plausible as the merged company looks for savings. The letter points to the possibility of combining back-office work, programming or archives, and says the deal could mean the loss of at least one distinct voice in the UK market for international or US news programming. DCMS adds that CNN International and Channel 5 together have a maximum theoretical reach of 18% among UK adults who use broadcast TV for news, while also warning that common ownership of CNN and CBS archives could affect access to important historical footage. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

This is why public interest tests matter. A standard merger review asks whether rivalry in a market could be weakened. A media public interest review asks an extra civic question as well: after the deal, will enough separate owners and distinct editorial voices still be left for audiences? In the government's consultation, that is exactly why Ofcom and the CMA have split roles: Ofcom examines the media public interest side, while the CMA examines jurisdiction and competition. (gov.uk) For now, nothing is settled. The CMA's separate merger inquiry was launched on 9 June 2026, and its current phase 1 deadline is 7 August 2026. The parties can still make representations before any PIIN decision, and ministers would still need to decide later whether a full phase 2 reference is justified. But the letter published on 30 June tells you something important already: this is not being treated as an ordinary entertainment deal. In Westminster's view, it may also be a test of how the UK protects media plurality when one merger touches children's television, streaming services and international news all at once. (gov.uk)