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It's balance of power on Bloomberg TV and Radio. I'm Joe Matthew. Thanks for joining us on the Friday edition. After a month long battle for Warner Brothers, Paramount has officially outbid Netflix by agreeing to pay one hundred eleven billion dollars for the Hollywood studio and paying Netflix for the two point eight billion dollar breakup feed It terminate its initial merger agreement just a short time ago. The merger raising concerns about market consolidation, of course, job losses.
You've heard about it on Bloomberg.
It's still pending regulatory approval, with Paramount chief David Ellison already asked to testify before Congress next week, as Democratic Senator Corey Booker announces a probe into the potential Paramount Warner Brothers merger, and Booker is not the only one, with California's Attorney General Rob Bonto warning Paramount's WBT takeover is not a done deal yet, vowing a vigorous investigation and he's with us right now for more. Attorney General,
is this deal not over? What are you looking at?
Not a done deal? The regulatory process still needs to be completed. There are hurdles there that have not been traversed yet by this proposed deal, and we have a job to do and we're going to do it. We have an investigation. We're looking at the deal. We're looking at its potential anti competitive impacts, and we know that corporate consolidation tends to increase prices, lower wages, lower competition,
lower quality, and limit choice. So we're going to take a close look at that, as is our job, and make an independent assessment based on the law and the facts.
I suspect that's an investigation that could take some time. This is a massive and sprawling deal with a lot of properties. Attorney General. The critics say the problem with this deal, and those who favored the idea of Netflix buying it, is that this takes an entire movie studio off the table. Is that how you're looking at this and what would that mean for California's economy?
Well, one of the we are looking at that for sure. One of the first questions is what is the appropriate market at issues the market definition, and one is studio. You know it will be a studio market consolidation. There's also a streaming service market consolidation here. So there's a couple of different markets at issue, and you know, California is the home of Hollywood, with the fourth largest economy
in the world. What could this merger should it go through and be approved and get through the regulatory process, mean it could mean less choices for consumers, higher prices for consumers, a less robust creative output and set of processes. It could mean, you know, fewer choices and lower quality. So there's a lot at stake here for the forty million Californians. But these companies, they're so large, there's going to be impacts nationwide and worldwide as well.
You know.
So of course, not just studios, not just streaming services, it's also news.
And you start to talking about.
Information on public areas in the case of CBS or otherwise on cable with CNN, do you worry about consolidation in that business? Do you need promises that that would not take place?
I do worry about that. I think we all are worried about that and should be worried about that. We've seen what's happened to our independent, objective news that we
so value, and we take steps to protect that. So that is an important area that we're looking at among the many other broader areas, and we haven't gotten ahead of ourselves as to what the potential remedy is or conditions or you know, whether we think there's no way that there could be a set of conditions or remedies, or maybe we like it exactly the way it is, so we're not prejudging it. But we're looking closely as we should, as is our duty and obligation.
I want to move on to some other topics, but do you have a sense of how long it'll take before you make that determination?
Because the two companies, Paramount and Warner Brothers are moving so quickly, we're going to have to take some action at least to maintain the status quo soon, if that's what we decide we need to do, and then we'll continue the ongoing investigative process and any other action to follow. But we can't let this get too far without some action, So you'll probably see something sooner than later.
Weeks, not months, correct, Great Attorney General, I want to ask you about tariffs.
It was one week ago today.
Kind of hard to believe that the Supreme Court ruled to strike down the President's tariff regime. He's of course taken some series of actions since then to try to reinstate across the board global tariffs, and he talked about this at his State of the Union address this week.
Let's listen.
They're a little more complex, but they're actually probably better. Congressional action will not be necessary.
It's already time tested.
And approved, and as time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in in the past, substantially replaced the modern day system of income tax.
Of course, that was a loaded statement on its own. Attorney General, you called it a tremendous win the way the Supreme Court ruled. But if the President is following up with three zero one or some other mechanism to put more tariffs in place around the world, how does anything change.
Well, let me first say I expected the US Supreme Court to decide almost exactly the way they did, having been at the argument for the US Supreme Court that you know the six' to three decision of the, majority as well as the reasons it was basically tracked the reasons we advanced in our briefing to THE Us Supreme. Court of, Course trump is absolutely dead, set even after suffering this embarrassing loss on his centerpiece economic, policy to
continue to try to raise prices For, americans. Unfortunately and so our role here is to see if his current tariffs are lawful or. Not and we're. Looking we're looking with other states. Concerned they are global tariffs that he has imposed based on a statute for which it does not necessarily appear that he's met their. Requirements there are requirements before you can impose those those. Tariffs there needs
to be a balance of payments. Deficit there's also limits about how, long how high they can be the tariffs, themselves and how long their duration can. Last so there are limits set By. Congress and right now we have some major red flags that have been raised around whether those requirements are being met.
Here, well i'll say you it's been pretty.
Amazing we're going to have to get some more Lawyers attorney.
General since the, ruling.
More than one hundred companies of file new lawsuits to try to get refunds.
Here AND i mean these are some big.
Names you already knew About, costco you Had, FedEx Dice In Dollar, General, bousha Lom, Brooks. Brothers this is quite the, list knowing that the justices were silent on. Refunds is this what we're going to do for the next three.
YEARS i, mean it should be done quickly and. Expeditiously trump unlawfully raised costs for these, companies and these costs were passed on To. Americans they deserve a refund with, interest, period full. Stop you should look it to them as soon as. Possible and you, know he shouldn't fight it in. Court he was deemed to be wrong by the highest court in the, land a court where he appointed three.
Justices two of those justices where in the majority opinion against, him because they're following the, law and because he's done something so clearly. Unlawful the authority he cited gave him no right to impose any. Teriffs they have never that authority never used the word tariffs in its statutory, language and it was never used in nearly its fifty year existence to impose tariffs. Before, so, yeah he did something. Unlawfully he did something. Wrong he victimized these Companies americans
by raising. Prices he should make it right by providing perstitution and refunds.
Immediately, Well i'll tell you we'd like to stay in touch with you on both of these. Issues come back and talk to, us and you decide what to do With Warner. Brothers Attorney General Rob, Bonta. California we thank you for the insights