Two continents put CNN under a microscope in 72 hours — and one regulator went on TV to sort of take it back. If you're just joining us: after the DOJ cleared Paramount Skydance's proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal, the fight shifted to the states. California AG Rob Bonta's looked like the likely lead, and the states have been weighing outside counsel while they decide whether to actually sue. This is Paramount Skydance Watch — today, a British minister and a California AG both circling CNN in the same week, and whether either one has the leverage to matter. Let's get into it. Thomson Reuters, with Muvija M and Sam Tabahriti:
Britain said on Tuesday it could intervene in Paramount Skydance Corp’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, potentially holding up the $110 billion deal after the U.S. and China gave it the green light.
So watch the Reuters framing here — Nandy said she 'could' intervene, and gave them until July 6 to respond. We're talking about a public-interest concern letter, not a referral to the CMA yet. Right, and Monday's the deadline — three business days out. That's the most concrete near-term date on the whole board right now, and whatever Paramount and WBD file could decide whether this stays quiet or moves into a full CMA phase. And look at the sequence — US, China, Australia, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia all cleared it. Then one UK culture minister, an ally of the incoming PM, raises news and children's TV. That's a sovereign with actual Enterprise Act powers, not noise. The piece flags it plainly — Nandy named news, children's television, and streaming. News. Which puts CNN International inside a UK plurality question, on top of everything already circling CNN's structure back home. Everyone's reaching for the Activision comparison because the CMA blocked that $69 billion deal in 2023 — then reversed once Microsoft tweaked the structure. So even the scary precedent ended in a fix, not a tombstone. From TheWrap:
“I know a lot of people are interested in this transaction and what my office will do — and what we will do is what I’ve always said: We are investigating. The transaction has not cleared regulatory scrutiny. There are red flags in the air everywhere.”
So Bonta goes on MS NOW Sunday and says — — 'I don't know where that comes from.' On the CNN-sale story. That's a walk-back with a smile. This is the AG coalition negotiating in public. He's not filing anything; he's floating 'red flags in the air everywhere' on cable. That's the posture of someone shopping for a consent decree, not someone who thinks he can block a hundred-and-ten-billion-dollar deal. Careful, though — he denied the specific 'sell CNN' framing. He did not say he isn't investigating CNN's future. Narrow disavowal, not a clean one. And read it next to the UK notice we just hit. Same 72-hour window, two continents both circling CNN's structure. Bonta's investigation is live, his own words are still on tape, and neither file is closed. Have a tip, a story idea, or a correction for Paramount Skydance Watch? Send it our way at paramountskydancewatch at lantern podcasts dot com. We always appreciate hearing from you.
What we're watching next: Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have until July 6 to respond to Lisa Nandy's concerns, and Britain's Competition and Markets Authority is due by August 7 to decide whether to launch a deeper probe.
As always, we've put links to every story from today's briefing in the show notes, so you can dig into whichever ones you want to read more closely.
That's Paramount Skydance Watch for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.