Eric Fruits Quoted in Reason on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
ICLE Director of Economic Research Eric Fruits was quoted in Reason article on the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which examined the deal’s potential effects on competition, streaming markets, and the future structure of the entertainment industry. Read the full article here.
While concerns about consolidation “cannot easily be dismissed,” says Eric Fruits, director of economic research at the International Center for Law & Economics, “the analysis isn’t that simple.”
Fruits says the Paramount–Warner Bros. “merger would reduce the number of major studios and could increase bargaining power over talent and distributors,” and increase the likelihood of job losses. At the same time, Warner Bros. is a “financially constrained firm operating in a rapidly changing market” and “a combined Paramount-[Warner Bros.] could plausibly become a stronger competitor to Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+.”
Moreover, “Americans have more access to news than ever before from broadcast, cable, digital outlets, and independent creators,” says Fruits. An August 2025 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 56 percent of American adults often get their news from digital devices, while only 32 percent do so from TV.