A federal judge delayed a decision on Paramount Skydance’s proposed settlement with 12 state attorneys general over its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving the merger’s final major legal hurdle unresolved. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín questioned whether the agreement adequately addressed the states’ antitrust concerns and promoted competition, rather than merely limiting potential harms. The five-year settlement requires the combined company to produce at least 30 films annually for two years and 32 annually for the following three years, including independent and high-budget tentpole films. It also imposes U.S. production quotas, penalties of $30 million per missing film and possible divestiture of Miramax, as well as protections for Los Angeles studios, editorial independence at CBS News and CNN, and an independent compliance monitor. Paramount faces a combined $7 million-per-day obligation to Warner Bros. shareholders if the transaction has not closed by Oct. 1. Critics including Block the Merger, LULAC, Free Press and the Writers Guild of America argue the settlement does not sufficiently address competition, employment, production-quality and news-independence concerns.