Rob Bonta is leading California and 11 other states in a lawsuit against David Ellison's Paramount Skydance.
Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images; Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Rob Bonta, California's attorney general, says it's not his job to protect Hollywood giants from the rise of Netflix and other streaming insurgents.This week, Bonta and 11 other attorneys general sued Paramount Skydance to stop its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount says it needs the deal to compete with tech giants in streaming and transition to a new media model.Bonta told Business Insider that's irrelevant to his antitrust case."We're indifferent to — I guess, from a legal perspective — what markets are growing, which ones are shrinking," Bonta said in an interview. "Maybe the theater market is shrinking, the cable market is shrinking, the streaming market is growing. We don't have a specific opinion on that in this case. And we're not trying to help one grow or stop one from shrinking."Bonta said his suit focuses on how Paramount's WBD deal could affect market concentration in three areas: distribution of wide-release movies, distribution of big-budget blockbuster films, and licensing of cable channels.Bonta argues that buying WBD would give David Ellison's Paramount too much power over theater owners, pay-TV distributors, and — by extension — consumers. He's seeking a preliminary injunction, or a temporary court order to pause the Paramount-WBD transaction."They'll be able to dictate terms with the theaters," Bonta said. "They'll be able to ask for more money. The theaters will have to pay more. That means raised costs for moviegoers."
