Free Press Swarms Paramount Studios with Anti-Merger Messages 

The owners of Paramount Skydance got more bad news on April 15 as roving protest billboards and a flying banner swarmed the media conglomerate’s annual advertiser gala to expose the dangers of the company’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Paramount owner David Ellison and his centibillionaire father Larry. Paramount had just kicked off a series of celebrity-studded events at its studio lot to woo major advertisers to purchase spots on CBS’s fall primetime schedule. Their hope was to brush aside reports about CBS News’ abysmal ratings and other controversies plaguing their mega-merger ambitions, hoping to convince advertisers to trust their brands to the network.  

Free Press’ truck-mounted billboards (viewable here) and plane banner circled the venue warning advertisers of the risks of doing business with a media giant that has aligned itself with an unpopular president and his authoritarian agenda.

The mobile billboards feature headlines about political pressure, spiked stories and pro-Trump propaganda at CBS, alongside images of billionaire Larry Ellison and Donald Trump over the text: “What you support when you support Paramount/CBS.” The plane banner displays text: “Don’t spend $ on ads at ‘see b.s.’ news,” referencing a joke told by comedian Nikki Glaser while hosting the Golden Globes in January. 

Meet the Ellisons

Paramount’s pitch party was part of “Upfront Week,” an annual event where advertisers get previews of next fall’s primetime lineup as they decide whether to purchase large blocks of time on television networks. Upfronts are critical to the success of the entertainment industry, allowing networks to lock in as much as 80 percent of their annual advertising revenue before the broadcast season even begins.  

If Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery goes through, it would put outlets — including HBO, CNN and a host of other news and entertainment titles — under the control of the Ellisons.

It’s been a difficult couple of months for the Ellisons. Ratings at CBS News have plummeted to historic lows since Skydance took over Paramount, installed a former Trump ambassador as CBS’s “bias monitor” and appointed Bari Weiss to be its editor in chief. There’s been a steady exodus of newsroom talent as journalists and producers rejected Weiss’ heavy hand and what they have described as a lack of editorial independence from the White House.

Earlier this week, more than 2,000 professionals across the film industry — including Jane Fonda, Edward Norton, Pedro Pascal and Florence Pugh — released an open letter declaring their opposition to Paramount’s pending acquisition. Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. was aided by President Trump’s expressed preference to have his billionaire political cronies shape the media message to support the White House’s authoritarian agenda.

The Hollywood letter urges California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his colleagues in other states to consider legal action to block the merger before the Trump Justice Department rubber-stamps the transaction. 

Mega-merger meltdown

The Ellisons already own CBS and TikTok and cannot be allowed to control CNN as well. They have promised Trump that they’ll make sweeping changes to these networks given the chance, and we know what that means: firing journalists, killing important stories and replacing the news with pro-Trump spin and disinformation. The Ellisons don’t care about nose-diving ratings or silencing their own journalists if it means getting a merger done.

Popular momentum to block the merger is growing. State attorneys general need to step in and political leaders everywhere need to speak out against this deal. Advertisers, too, should consider what they’re buying into when they buy into CBS.

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Take Action: Urge regulators to STOP the Paramount Skydance/WBD merger.