Paramount signage is on display at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA, 07 August 2025. Paramount Global and Skydance Media have completed their $8.4 billion merger, with the company renamed ‘Paramount Skydance Corp’. EPA/ALLISON DINNER By Jody Godoy
The move gives Paramount Skydance more time to argue against a potential months-long pause while the case plays out. The company has said such a prolonged delay would plunge the deal into uncertainty and could cost it more than $1-billion.
A California-led coalition of states have sued to block the deal, saying it would harm competition in film and television, hurting theaters and cable companies. The Writers Guild of America has filed a separate lawsuit alleging the deal would decrease demand for screenwriting work.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland, California, previously paused the deal through 3 August, when she would have held a hearing on whether to postpone the deal’s closing for longer.
Paramount has asked for a three-day hearing in August where it can present evidence the deal bolsters competition before the judge decides on a longer pause.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Deepa Babington)