U.K. government clears the way for Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

This is per Deadline, which reports this morning that UK culture secretary Lisa Mandy has indicated that she will not interfere with the merger, effectively giving it a greenlight in the country. In fairness, the proposition of Nandy holding up the merger was always a big “if”; as we reported last month, the U.K. actually seemed more concerned about the potential Netflix takeover of WB and what it meant for movie theaters than about the Paramount takeover, focusing its concerns of that merger on children’s and news programming. Paramount has now conceded that it will not combine linear channels with its streaming service and to allow children’s and news programming to maintain their editorial independence—for five years, at least. In effect, this means that Channel 5 will remain independent from CBS News and CNN and will continue to operate as a public service broadcaster. 

Backlash against the merger in the United Kingdom ramped up in the past month, with performers like Alan Cumming urging fans to get involved to block it. But even if the merger is sailing ahead in the U.K., it’s hardly a done deal. The antitrust trial in the U.S. is set for March.