In a letter sent to the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU governments, industry representatives warn: the deal could hit independent film production, reduce cultural diversity and change the balance of power in the European film business.
According to the Financial Times, the authors of the appeal require Brussels to go beyond a formal review and examine “all the implications for the European audiovisual ecosystem”. According to the FT, Paramount Global is already in preliminary consultations with the European Commission and is preparing to formally notify the regulator of the deal in the coming weeks.
The alarm in the industry stems not only from the scale of the deal, estimated at $111 billion, but also from the fact that the combined company will gain control of production, film distribution and content streaming across Europe. The letter says the continent risks getting “another non-European controller” of the entertainment market.
The document was signed by representatives of directors, screenwriters, writers and movie theater owners. Among them – the Society of Audiovisual Authors, representing more than 177 thousand European authors, as well as the International Union of Cinematographers, which unites movie theater chains from 34 countries.
Concerns are heard in Hollywood itself. Some industry participants believe that after the merger there will inevitably be staff cuts and a reduction in the number of projects for independent film and series creators.
Paramount Global rejects the criticism and says it is engaged in a “constructive and transparent” dialog with regulators. The company also promises to increase the release of films for theaters to 30 pictures a year, to maintain content licensing and not to interfere with the creative independence of key brands.
The deal has already been sent to the US Federal Communications Commission for approval. According to the FT, the parties expect to close it by the end of the year after receiving approvals from shareholders and regulators.
