Writers Guild plans to oppose Paramount-Warner Bros merger, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -The Writers Guild of America, which represents screenwriters and newsroom staffers, said it will oppose a deal combining Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. "Merger after merger in the media industry has harmed workers, diminished competition and free speech, and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars better invested in organic growth," the guild said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. Combining Warner Bros with Paramount, another major studio or a streaming company would be "a disaster for writers, for consumers, and for competition," the union said, adding they will press regulators to block any such deal, according to the report. The Writers Guild of America and Warner Bros Discovery did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Paramount Skydance declined to comment. Paramount Skydance is seen as the top contender to buy Warner Bros Discovery given CEO David Ellison's financial backing and political connections — even though the Warner Bros Discovery board rejected the nearly $24-per-share offer earlier this week, as Reuters first reported. (Reporting by Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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