State Attorneys General Ask a Court for a Temporary Pause on Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

State attorneys general have moved to block or slow Paramount’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery by asking a court for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, according to a report published July 13 by Deadline.

In their filing, the attorneys general argued that the companies should not be allowed to finalize the transaction while the matter remains under review, warning that the deal could close as soon as July 22 if the merger proceeds on schedule.

The timing cited by the states is closely tied to the transaction review calendar outside the United States. Deadline reported that July 22 is around when the European Union is expected to issue its decision on the merger.

The state requests are aimed at preventing the companies from taking final steps that would make later court relief harder to implement. Under the states’ approach, an order that pauses the deal would preserve the status quo while a court considers whether the merger should be blocked or further conditioned.

Paramount’s proposed combination with Warner Bros. Discovery is a major consolidation in U.S. media, with potential implications for how content is produced, marketed, distributed, and priced across multiple platforms. The states’ emergency move reflects the concern that transactional finality could arrive before additional antitrust scrutiny is completed.

A temporary restraining order is designed to be short-term and immediate, while a preliminary injunction generally extends relief for a longer period as a case proceeds. The states are seeking both types of orders, indicating they want a rapid court intervention rather than waiting for a later ruling date.

The next steps will depend on the court’s scheduling and whether it grants immediate relief. If the court denies the requested pause, Deadline reported that the companies could still be positioned to proceed to closing by July 22, potentially before the EU’s expected decision.

If the court grants at least part of the requested relief, it would force the parties to remain in a holding pattern while litigation continues, affecting negotiating leverage and the timeline for any resolution.