London .- Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong have asked the British Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, to intervene regarding the proposed acquisition of Paramount by Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that it threatens the British audiovisual sector, its workers, and the variety of content.
In an article published this Monday in ‘The Guardian’, the three performers, who work both in the UK and in Hollywood, argue that the merger would pose a risk to the national cultural industry, where both companies have a large presence, and ask Nandy to analyze the operation from the point of view of the “public interest”.
Paramount proposes to acquire Warner Bros Discovery in a transaction valued at 110 billion dollars (95.7 billion euros) which, according to the parties involved, would leave the resulting company with an estimated debt of 84 billion dollars (73.1 billion euros).
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Interpreters point out that, to deal with that debt, executives have promised investors some 6 billion dollars (5.2 billion euros) in “synergies,” a term that, according to the article, would translate into layoffs, cancelled productions, fewer commissioned films, and less risk-taking.
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The British audiovisual sector supports more than 180,000 jobs
Cumberbatch, Cumming, and Wong recall that the British audiovisual sector supports more than 180,000 jobs, generated 6.8 billion pounds (7.956 billion euros) in production spending last year, and contributes about 12 billion pounds (14.04 billion euros) annually to the UK economy.
Stakeholders warn that previous business concentration processes have reduced the variety of available content and cite as an example that independent film acquisitions at the American Sundance festival were cut in half between 2019 and 2025.
The article points out that the operation, which is being analyzed in the United Kingdom by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is already facing obstacles elsewhere. In the United States, twelve states, led by California, have filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the merger, arguing that it could raise prices, reduce the number of films produced, and affect the quality of content.
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The three actors celebrate that the British minister has opened the door to an intervention and ask her to move in that direction to protect the British audiovisual industry.
