Paramount Skydance emerged victorious on Monday from a legal battle over its US$110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery after settling with a California-led group of US states and a Hollywood writers union. The settlement paves the way for one of the largest media mergers in history. Paramount agreed to abide by temporary film quotas and a news oversight committee, avoiding a forced sale of cable assets such as CNN. The company promised to spend at least US$300 million more each year in domestic production and adhere to US theatrical release quotas for five years, producing 30-32 movies annually, with at least four independent films and 20% blockbusters. If it falls below the threshold, it will pay US$30 million per film into worker support funds. Paramount also promised not to raise rates on theatre operators for three years and will establish a news editorial independence boar