Paramount CEO threatens to move studio out of California over antitrust fight

Paramount's board gave the green light for a potential exodus from California should Attorney General Rob Bonta decline to enter settlement talks by Oct. 1, the deadline linked to a $7 million-per-day penalty in the Warner Bros. Discovery merger case. CEO David Ellison briefed his 12-member executive team, outlining options to move the headquarters to states like Tennessee, Texas or Georgia, and noted that the board, which he controls, has already approved the plan.

He highlighted projected tax savings of $500 million per year and the possibility of selling the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio lots, each once valued at up to $4 billion. While creative operations would stay in Hollywood, most business functions and many jobs could shift over a five-year period, financed by state incentives. Ellison argued relocation is preferable to cutting content spending or restructuring amid $650 million in quarterly fees and a potential $7 billion breakup fee if the merger stalls. The attorney general’s office condemned the tactic as blackmail, intensifying the legal showdown.