Paramount-WBD Hearing Date Set For Proposed AGs Settlement

A federal judge has set a hearing for Thursday on the proposed settlement between state attorneys general and Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin set the hearing for 11 a.m. PT via Zoom.

She wrote in an order Tuesday that the hearing would be to “address certain outstanding questions regarding the factual and legal underpinnings of the parties proposed consent decree, as well as the implementation of the proposed consent decree.”

The parties have filed a motion to approve the consent decree, which lays out a series of settlement conditions to resolve the lawsuit brought by the state AGs in July. Among the provisions are Paramount commitments to release at least 30 movies per year, and another to create an independent board to oversee CNN and CBS News adherence to journalistic standards.

The judge also canceled a scheduled hearing on whether to require the state AGs to post a bond as the litigation proceeded.

The judge said in a separate order that she would decide in “due course” on whether to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the Writers Guild of America to block the merger. The WGA said it also reached a settlement with Paramount to end its litigation.