Benedict Cumberbatch Says Paramount-Warner Deal Is A “Calamity” That Must Be Blocked

Benedict Cumberbatch has co-authored an op-ed with Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong in which the actors argue that Paramount‘s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery should be blocked in the UK. In The Guardian article, headlined ‘A TV and cinema calamity could be disastrous for what you watch and what you know. Act now to stop that,’ the actors called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene in the $111 billion merger for the good of the British screen industry. It follows Nandy telling UK Parliament that she is “minded to intervene” in the takeover, but she is yet to make a final decision on whether to submit the union to a full public interest investigation. She is expected to reach a conclusion when Parliament returns from its summer break in September. Watch on Deadline Cumberbatch, Cumming and Wong wrote: “Nandy has opened the door to intervention. She must walk through it, for the sake of everyone who makes UK television and film – and everyone who watches it. If she does not, we will be left without the ability to protect our industry and our culture from this consolidation. We must not push the public’s interest aside; we must stand up for it and block this merger.” Paramount has been approached for comment. The actors voiced concerns about the Paramount-Warner merger putting the “livelihoods of thousands of workers” at risk in the UK. They are also anxious about the concentration of news services, given that the combined company would control 5 News, CNN International, and CBS News. “One owner controlling this much of the news, and the truth, endangers the public in a way no ordinary consolidation does,” they said. “And we know something about this particular proprietor’s intentions. Paramount’s chief executive reportedly told Donald Trump that he would make ‘sweeping changes’ to CNN if the deal went through. When the buyer of the world’s most trusted international news channel makes editorial promises to a politician, a British secretary of state is entitled – and, really, obliged – to ask questions before the ink dries.” The trio added: “Should her department decide to intervene, it may prove one of the most important decisions any culture secretary has taken for UK film, television and media in a generation.” Their op-ed follows WarnerMount securing regulatory clearance in the European Union last week, before the deal was put on ice until June 2027, or until shortly after the merits of lawsuits brought by state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America are resolved. The pause makes Nandy’s decision slightly less pivotal, given it looked at one point that the UK could stand in the way of Paramount meeting its closure deadline of September 30. Paramount’s deal could close without UK clearance because the merger control regime is non-suspensory, though David Ellison has always intended to respect the British process. Cumming has previously made his feelings known about the merger. Earlier this month, The Traitors host posted a video as part of a coalition calling itself Block the Merger UK, which urged people to contact the Department for Culture, Media and Sport or regulator Ofcom, demanding they examine the merger in more depth.