The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published its letter on 30 June 2026. Although the GOV.UK page is labelled a minded-to-refer decision, the letter itself makes clear that the immediate step under consideration is a Public Interest Intervention Notice in relation to Paramount Skydance Corporation’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and that the Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy, has not yet taken a final decision. (gov.uk) The parties have been invited to submit written representations by 9am on 6 July 2026. If an intervention notice is then issued, Ofcom would report on the specified media public interest grounds and the CMA would report on jurisdictional and competition questions, after which the Secretary of State would decide whether to make a section 45 referral for a more detailed investigation. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The proposed transaction was announced by Paramount on 27 February 2026. DCMS said the agreement values Warner Bros. Discovery at $81 billion in equity value and $110 billion in enterprise value, with Paramount offering $31 in cash per share plus a ticking fee; WBD shareholders approved the deal on 23 April 2026, and the parties have said completion is expected in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory clearances. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Separately, the CMA’s merger inquiry is already open. According to the CMA case page, the inquiry was launched on 9 June 2026 and the current Phase 1 deadline is 7 August 2026, so the public interest process now being considered by DCMS would sit alongside an active competition timetable rather than replace it. (gov.uk)
DCMS identified two public interest concerns. The first is the need for a sufficient plurality of views in UK news media. The second is the need for a sufficient plurality of persons controlling media enterprises and on-demand programme services serving UK audiences. In her written statement to Parliament, Lisa Nandy said the second test matters because the Enterprise Act 2002 was drafted for a market still centred on broadcast viewing and does not presently deal with streaming services in the same way. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) That point reaches beyond this transaction. DCMS said the on-demand plurality ground is not currently specified in section 58 of the Act, so if the Secretary of State proceeds on that basis she would need to bring forward secondary legislation to add it. On that reading, this case is likely to become an early test of how the UK media-merger regime is adapted for streaming. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The government’s letter sets out why ministers think the ownership question is large enough to justify scrutiny. DCMS said WBD broadcasts 30 linear channels in the UK, including CNN International, TNT Sports channels and Cartoon Network, while Paramount broadcasts 20, including Channel 5, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV. Combined, the group would also hold Discovery+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and 5. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Using DCMS analysis of BARB data, the department said Paramount’s weekly share of identified live linear viewing is 7.2 per cent and WBD’s is 4.9 per cent. Combined, that would be 12.1 per cent, ahead of Sky at 10.7 per cent and Channel 4 at 9.2 per cent, making the merged business the UK’s third-largest linear broadcaster by audience share behind the BBC and ITV. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The letter gives particular weight to children’s television and streaming. DCMS said Paramount and WBD are the second and third biggest providers of children’s linear content in the UK by audience reach, and ministers are concerned that post-merger consolidation could remove a significant presence from an already narrow market. The department also said the combined entity’s on-demand services would immediately cover 19 per cent of the UK population on BARB measures, excluding HBO Max, which DCMS noted is expected to grow further this year. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Paramount had told DCMS that it did not currently plan substantive UK changes to WBD’s linear or on-demand services, and the Secretary of State records that assurance in the letter. Even so, ministers said the combined company would have the ability to rationalise children’s channels or merge streaming offers later, and that possibility sits at the centre of the present public interest test. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
News plurality is the second major issue. DCMS said common ownership would bring CBS News, Channel 5 News and CNN International under Paramount’s control. The letter says ministers are not aware of any settled plan to change Channel 5 News or its ITN supply arrangement, but remain concerned that later cost-saving decisions could reduce the number of distinct voices available in the UK market for international and US news programming. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The department also raised a less obvious point with wider policy relevance: common ownership of the CNN and CBS news archives. DCMS said unified control of those archives could create risks around access, pricing or editorial gatekeeping for independent UK news and documentary producers. That means the case is not only about channels and audience reach, but also about control over source material that feeds other journalism and factual programming. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The immediate question is now procedural rather than final. The Secretary of State must first decide whether to convert the minded-to position into a formal intervention notice after receiving the parties’ submissions by 6 July 2026. If that happens, Ofcom and the CMA move from background context to statutory advisers on the public interest and merger issues; if it does not, the CMA’s existing merger review continues on its current timetable. (questions-statements.parliament.uk) For policy officials and media companies, the wider significance is already clear from the Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament. The government is signalling that future media merger reviews may need to look beyond traditional broadcasting and test control of streaming services more directly. The Paramount-WBD case may therefore help set the next working model for UK media plurality scrutiny. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)