Markets · on the rundown Monday, July 20, 2026
Judge pauses Paramount-Warner Bros. merger with 14-day order
Covered by 10 outlets over 6 hours. They ran 5 distinct reports; the most widely run, a syndicated copy, appeared on 6 sites. First reported by nytimes.com at 17:23 UTC on July 20, 2026.
- outlets10
- distinct reports5
- first to latest report6 h
- names in it3
What happened?
- Reports say that a temporary restraining order lasting 14 days was granted by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, pausing the acquisition.
- The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed a week earlier by a dozen states, the reports state.
- The $111 billion deal would put Paramount's and Warner's movie and television studios, Paramount+ and HBO Max, Paramount's CBS and 50 cable TV channels, including CBS News and CNN, under the same corporate roof, the reports state.
A federal judge on Monday granted a 14-day temporary restraining order pausing Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, in response to a lawsuit filed a week earlier by a dozen states.
A machine summary written from the reports listed below; read them for the full account. How summaries are made and what is checked.
Who reported it, and when?
| Time | Report | Run by |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 20 17:23 | Judge Temporarily Pauses Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal |
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| Jul 20 17:58 | Judge pauses $110B Paramount-Warner Bros merger |
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| Jul 20 20:00 | Court ruling freezes Paramount - Warner Bros. merger for now | |
| Jul 20 22:30 | Paramount - Warner Bros. deal ordered paused by judge |
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| Jul 20 23:27 | Merger deal between Paramount and Warner Bros paused by judge |
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Who was named?
More news naming Warner Bros. Discovery
- Oct 14 · HR & workforce Netflix cutting close to 1,000 jobs, mostly in product, tech, HR 2
- Oct 6 · Finance Paramount Completes $110B Warner Bros. Deal, Forms Skydance 2
- Sep 30 · Finance Judge approves Paramount settlement with states over Warner Bros. merger 4
- Sep 22 · Finance WBD Jumps 10.8% as $81B Paramount Deal Clears AG Hurdle 2
- Sep 21 · Finance Paramount agrees to concessions in Warner Bros. Discovery takeover lawsuit 12
Sources: the outlets' reports linked on this page; counts and times from GetYourBrief's record of those reports (methodology).