The UK Competition and Markets Authority is moving toward a Phase 1 review of Paramount Skydance’s planned $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, with a formal investigation potentially beginning in the coming weeks.

An early-stage consultation has been opened by the CMA to assess potential competition concerns in the UK media and communications market as part of the Paramount Skydance deal.

The CMA has started processes that could lead to a formal investigation of Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery’s merger, signaling heightened regulatory scrutiny.

The CMA has set April 27, 2026 as the deadline for submitted comments on the deal.

Paramount and Warner Bros did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

More than 1,000 writers, actors, and directors signed an open letter opposing the deal, arguing it would harm Hollywood’s distressed entertainment industry; notable signatories include Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Stiller.

Hollywood figures, including JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher, and Denis Villeneuve, publicly opposed the merger in an open letter highlighting concerns for the creative community.

Paramount Sky(?) stock declined more than 20% year-to-date and traded about 1% lower in premarket trading on regulatory news.

Paramount Skydance has secured around $24 billion in pledged funding from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and others, including roughly $10 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

If regulators block the deal, Paramount Skydance would owe a $7 billion breakup fee.

The Paramount-Warner Bros deal was announced in February after a weeks-long bidding war that included Netflix, amid ongoing consolidation in the media landscape.

The CMA is assessing whether studio deals could harm competition in the film and TV industries and has invited views from interested parties through April 27.