Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong have issued an open letter urging the UK government to block the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The actors argue that the deal would cause significant harm to the British film and television industry, its workforce, and the country’s tradition of local storytelling.
In their letter, the trio called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene alongside Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), warning that continued consolidation among major studios limits the number and diversity of stories reaching audiences. They believe the merger would further reduce creative opportunities across the UK screen sector.
Cumberbatch, Cumming and Wong said: “Should [Nandy’s] 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.
“We have watched, with growing alarm, what consolidation does to the breadth and depth of the work we produce. Every merger of this kind narrows the funnel through which stories can reach audiences. That is precisely what makes the Paramount-WBD merger so dangerous.”
The UK government has already indicated it is open to intervening in the proposed transaction, while the CMA continues its review and is expected to publish its Phase 1 findings before August 7. Although the merger has been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and conditionally cleared by the European Commission, Paramount Skydance has agreed to temporarily pause the process until an antitrust lawsuit filed by a group of U.S. states is resolved.
According to the actors, this delay provides an important opportunity for UK authorities to step in on public interest grounds and prevent what they describe as a merger that could have lasting consequences for the country’s television and film industry.
