Deadline has reported that Paramount has asked the judge in their ongoing antitrust lawsuit to dismiss the case. The lawsuit pertains to whether Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Brothers is legal. Paramount believes the lawsuit is “long on rhetoric and fearmongering” and does not meet the legal standard to block the merger.

“Antitrust merger litigation is not a sport; it is a serious matter that consumes the resources of the parties and the Court. Because this Complaint falls well short of the required pleading standards, it should be dismissed with prejudice,” Paramount’s legal team stated in the motion via Deadline.  The team is headed by Jeffrey Kessler. The motion was filed at the U.S. District Court in Oakland.

The lawsuit was filed by streaming subscribers, Pamela Faust, Len Marazzo, Lisa McCarthy, Deborah Rubinsohn and Gary Talewsky in April. Paramount has maintained that the case does not have legal grounds.

 “Their allegations of injury consist almost entirely of speculative, barebones assertions with no factual support. Their sole allegation of purported concrete injury (a single price increase on Paramount’s streaming service, Paramount+, lacks factual allegations suggesting any causal connection between this price increase and the Skydance-Paramount merger,” the motion continued.

The plaintiffs have alleged that the merger would hamper Paramount-owned networks ability to provide news and commentary that incorporate views from across the political spectrum. Paramount’s legal team responded to these claims,“their allegation that the mergers will deprive them of a ‘diversity’ of political ‘viewpoints’ in the news media are neither factually plausible nor the type of economic harm that can support an antitrust claim,” via Deadline.

Additionally, Paramount stated the plaintiffs have failed to show adequate evidence that the merger would harm competition. “Plaintiffs’ three alleged markets sprawl across film, television, and news media, but none of them are plausible or consistent with governing legal and economic principles,” via Deadline.

Another filing opposed a motion for a preliminary injunction, Paramount claimed that the plaintiffs were attempting to use antitrust laws for political gain. They accused the plaintiffs of making “baseless political attacks”. The team mentioned a Wall Street Journal report that Paramount CEO David Ellison promised President Donald Trump he would make changes to CNN, a network that often finds itself at the center of Trump’s ire. The motion stated that “CNN will remain editorially independent.”

According to mxdwn, CBS News, a subsidiary of Paramount, is currently under scrutiny for editorial integrity. Bari Weiss, a major critic of left-leaning media, was made editor-in-chief of the network in October of 2025. Since Weiss took over, several journalists and producers have exited either of their own accord or due to termination. These exits include Tonya Simon, Scott Macfarlane, Scott Pelley, and John Dickerson. Pelley specifically exited due to an altercation with executive producer Nick Bilton. David Ellison has previously stated that he would like CBS News to maintain a more moderate political stance.

Paramount’s filing also mentioned the necessity of the merger t to remain competitive: “To compete most effectively against leading streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+, the merging parties require greater scale and investment in high-quality, compelling content that will drive moviegoers to theaters and attract viewers to cable television and streaming services,” via Deadline.

The plaintiff’s attorney has not yet responded to the filing. The merger is being reviewed by European regulators, the Justice Department, and the California Office of the Attorney General.