California AG Rob Bonta cancels Monday settlement talks with Paramount as he accuses David Ellison-backed bidder of “playing games” in WBD merger talks

California Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled a scheduled Monday settlement talks meeting involving Paramount and a coalition of state attorneys general after his office said details of settlement discussions were leaked, according to Deadline. The meeting, which had been set as a late-stage effort to narrow issues before regulators complete their review of a proposed WBD merger, was called off Sunday, the report said.

In a statement attributed to Bonta, the attorney general’s office said Paramount “leak[ed] the alleged substance of settlement discussions,” and the cancellation came amid renewed scrutiny of how the parties have been handling negotiations. Bonta also accused the David Ellison-led company involved in the merger talks of “playing games,” according to the Deadline report, framing the dispute as one about process and trust among negotiating stakeholders.

The cancellation followed reports that an Aug. 21 meeting had occurred involving Paramount and the David Ellison-led company, which the report said later “oozed out” in public. Deadline reported that the leaked information concerned alleged settlement discussions, prompting Bonta to call off Monday’s meeting rather than proceed under what his office described as compromised conditions.

The planned Monday sit-down would have brought together Paramount and a coalition of state attorneys general, a group that has been involved in challenging and reviewing major media consolidations. While the specific terms under discussion were not laid out in the report, the cancellation indicates that the state attorneys general are willing to step away from negotiated talks if they believe communication safeguards are not being followed.

The report places the decision in the context of ongoing regulatory and legal scrutiny surrounding the proposed merger involving WBD. Large-scale media deals typically draw attention from state and federal antitrust authorities, as well as regulators and interested stakeholders, because changes to ownership and control can affect distribution, competition, and programming access for audiences and local markets.

Bonta’s office did not indicate in the Deadline report that Monday’s cancellation would change broader timelines for the states’ review, but the move suggests that settlement efforts, at least in the near term, are on hold. As negotiations remain sensitive, the parties involved may now rely more heavily on formal filings and court-or-regulatory channels rather than informal meeting-based resolutions, the report implies.

A Paramount response was not included in the Deadline excerpt, and the report characterizes the dispute primarily through Bonta’s allegations. With the Monday meeting canceled, the next steps likely depend on whether both sides agree to new procedures for settlement discussions and whether regulators or courts require additional documentation or briefing as part of the merger review process.