Paramount Settlement Protects Pluto TV, May Divest BET, Comedy Central – Deadline

Paramount Settlement Protects Pluto TV, May Divest BET, Comedy Central  DeadlineCNN’s Future Will Include an Editorial Oversight Board  The New York TimesCalifornia’s Bonta Was Isolated as Paramount Deadline Neared  Bloomberg.comState attorneys general agree to settle Paramount merger lawsuit  CNNExclusive | Paramount Discussed $1.5 Billion California Investment to Clear Merger Hurdle  WSJ

Here is a concession no one really asked for — the settlement of state attorneys generals’ anti-trust lawsuit over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger includes a provision ensuring that Paramount will keep Pluto TV or another free, ad-supported streaming service for the next five years. While Pluto TV is protected, the settlement spells out […] Settlement protects Paramount's Pluto TV, Sets BET, VH1 & Comedy Central as potential divesture targets while omitting premium channels & TV Studios. Here is a concession no one really asked for — the settlement of state attorneys generals’ anti-trust lawsuit over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger includes a provision ensuring that Paramount will keep Pluto TV or another free, ad-supported streaming service for the next five years.

While Pluto TV is protected, the settlement spells out which cable brands Paramount will have to divest if it fails to keep carriage negotiations for the Paramount and Warner Bros. basic cable networks at arm’s length. The list includes two Par nets that already had been put on the block twice, BET (and its various sub-channels) and VH1, as well as Comedy Central, with the company’s flagships MTV and Nickelodeon out of danger. Overall,