$2.8 billion at stake for LA if Paramount takes over Warner Bros., study finds

The new analysis, commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity and conducted by CVL Economics, says a combined Paramount –Warner Bros. Discovery would chase roughly $6.7 billion in annual cost cuts — including about $600 million tied directly to content and production support. On a spreadsheet that’s “efficiency.” On the ground in L.A., that can mean fewer development teams, leaner production pipelines and fewer greenlights feeding crews, vendors and stages across the county.

• $2.8 billion in lost economic activity in Los Angeles County
• Nearly 4,500 film and TV jobs at risk
• About $1.26 billion in wages exposed
• Roughly $547 million in tax revenue on the line

Where the work goes

One data point jumps off the page: of the companies’ combined 2025 film slate, the report counted 73 movies with known shooting locations — only four are filming in California, and just one in Los Angeles County. Television remains the lifeline locally: 85.4% of their California TV production is in L.A. County. If consolidation means fewer shows, fewer buyers or more shoots moving out of state, the ripple hits far beyond studio payrolls — grips, caterers, prop houses, post facilities and neighborhood businesses feel it too.

Only one of 73 films on the companies’ 2025 slate is filming in Los Angeles County.

The streaming squeeze

The study lands after a whiplash decade: Netflix , Disney+ , Max and Paramount+ supercharged demand for scripted series, then pulled back as profitability took center stage. Warner Bros. Discovery has already absorbed that shift; Paramount heads into this proposed deal carrying a sizable financing load. That’s the backdrop for consolidation — and for the fear that “overlap” becomes a euphemism for fewer projects overall.

Promises vs. pause

Paramount has said the combined company would invest heavily in production and target at least 30 theatrical releases annually, arguing more films could mean more jobs. But the merger isn’t a done deal: California and 11 other states have moved to block it, and a federal court has temporarily paused the transaction while litigation plays out.

The county’s bottom line is straightforward: if the projected cuts and production shifts materialize, Los Angeles takes the hit first — in wages, jobs and shows shooting somewhere else.