Cumberbatch, Cumming urge U.K. to block Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong have called on U.K. politicians to block the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

Following widespread antitrust legal action, executives at Paramount Skydance agreed last week to hit pause on the proposed merger of Warner Bros. until June 2027.

Previously, bosses at the media conglomerate had announced an agreement to acquire the company for $110.9 billion.

But in a joint op-ed published in The Guardian on Monday, Cumberbatch, Cumming, and Wong argued that the deal "threatens to inflict immense harm on the British public".

"As actors and public figures who have spent our careers in the arts in Britain - working with British crews, on British stages and sets - we have a responsibility to the public who support, enjoy and consume the art we make," they wrote. "The U.K. is being threatened by a media merger that would harm our workers, our culture and the public - but we can stop it."

The trio also noted that they were "encouraged" by Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, indicating she is "minded to intervene" in the takeover.

Elsewhere in the article, Cumberbatch, Cumming, and Wong expressed concern over the future of Channel 5, owned by Paramount, as well as CNN and CNN International, currently controlled by Warner Bros. Discovery.

"If one commercially interested owner controls access to both, they control the raw material of our historical memory," they asserted. "One owner controlling this much of the news, and the truth, endangers the public in a way no ordinary consolidation does."

To conclude, Cumberbatch, Cumming, and Wong acknowledged that actors are usually encouraged to steer clear of legal disputes.

But in this instance, the Hollywood stars insisted they have a particularly relevant viewpoint of the industry.

"Nandy has opened the door to intervention. She must walk through it, for the sake of everyone who makes U.K. television and film - and everyone who watches it. If she does not, we will be left without the ability to protect our industry and our culture from this consolidation. We must not push the public's interest aside; we must stand up for it and block this merger," they added.

Representatives for Paramount Skydance have not yet responded to the criticism.