By Jody Godoy and Lisa Richwine
July 14 (Reuters) – The Writers Guild of America sued to block Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, alleging the deal would unlawfully decrease competition for screenwriting services for film and television.
The case adds to Paramount’s legal woes a day after California and a group of 11 states sued to block the deal.
A spokesperson for Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While the states focused on film and television distribution, the Writers Guild said that by reducing the number of buyers in Hollywood for films and TV shows, the deal would harm its members.
“With fewer competitors, the merged Paramount-Warner Bros entity would have both the incentive and the ability to lower costs by suppressing writers’ wages and reducing output. Writers will be paid less and have fewer employment opportunities,” the WGA complaint said.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles, Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)
