IDA Statement on Open Letter Opposing the Warner Bros./Paramount Merger
More than 1,000 film and television professionals—among them prominent documentarians Alex Gibney, Davis Guggenheim, Laura Poitras, Liz Garbus, and Kirsten Johnson—have signed an open letter opposing the Warner Bros./Paramount merger. IDA was part of the coalition that organized the letter, and we stand in solidarity with this coalition.
IDA has opposed the consolidation of Warner Bros. Discovery since October 2025, when the first acquisition proposals emerged. Our opposition has deepened as the deals have evolved. In our March 3 statement, we named what is now at stake: not only the loss of two of the most significant platforms for documentary film, but the concentration of editorial power in the hands of an entity with close and demonstrable ties to the federal administration—creating conditions in which political pressure can determine what gets made and seen.
None of this is inevitable. The merger is not yet approved, and state attorneys general—particularly in California and New York—have real power to investigate and challenge it. We urge them to use it.
For documentary filmmakers, the consequences are concrete, beyond the U.S. borders. Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance’s many commissioning and distribution pipelines are among the most significant for independent nonfiction. A merged entity under this ownership would not only control platforms like HBO Max and Paramount+, but also the underlying archive infrastructure— CNN Collection and CBS News—that documentarians depend on to tell stories about American and world history.
A merged entity of this scale would dominate production, distribution, and streaming, squeezing out independent voices, reducing audience choice, and driving up costs. History shows that consolidation at this level leads to content being locked down and power shifting decisively away from creators and consumers.
Leading documentary makers, IDA members, and members of the broader documentary community have already joined us in voicing their support. Documentary community signatories include,
Alex Gibney, Davis Guggenheim, Laura Poitras, Gordon Quinn, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, Liz Garbus, Joe Berlinger, Kirsten Johnson, Nick Broomfield, Asif Kapadia, Dawn Porter, David France, Roger Ross Williams, Lucy Walker, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, Robert Greene, Petra Costa, Bing Liu, Jessica Kingdon, Geeta Gandbhir, Steve Bognar, Tia Lessin, Abigail Disney, Joslyn Barnes, Josh Penn, Mynette Louie, and Sigrid Dyekjaer, as well as field leaders including former IDA Executive Director Simon Kilmurry, IDA board member Orwa Nyrabia, Tabitha Jackson, Sonya Childress, Patricia Aufderheide, Caroline Libresco, Lois Vossen, Scott Macaulay, James Schamus, Ted Hope, Dan Cogan, Justine Nagan, Julie Goldman, and Joslyn Barnes.
The documentary field depends on a media ecosystem that is diverse enough to carry difficult, independent work. That ecosystem is at stake. Read the letter here. If you’re a filmmaker or film professional who agrees, add your name.