Why Hollywood heavyweights oppose the Paramount and Warner Brothers deal

Consider This from NPR

Two entertainment and media powerhouses are likely to become one. So why aren’t the artists happy about it?


Backlash against a possible merger between the media companies Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery increased this week when more than 2,000 actors, writers and directors signed a letter opposing the deal. 

The letter warns that the merger will result in “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”  

Damon Lindelof created "The Leftovers", "Watchmen" and helped create the hit series "Lost." He was one of the artists to sign the letter, and he explains his decision to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. 

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Marc Rivers and Karen Zamora.

It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
More description
Two entertainment and media powerhouses are likely to become one. So why aren’t the artists happy about it?


Backlash against a possible merger between the media companies Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery increased this week when more than 2,000 actors, writers and directors signed a letter opposing the deal. 

The letter warns that the merger will result in “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”  

Damon Lindelof created "The Leftovers", "Watchmen" and helped create the hit series "Lost." He was one of the artists to sign the letter, and he explains his decision to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. 

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Marc Rivers and Karen Zamora.

It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
2026-04-14 8 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.