A group of streaming subscribers is asking a federal court to stop Skydance from irreversibly combining key Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount operations while their antitrust challenge to the $111 billion Paramount-WBD merger continues.

Pamela Faust, Len Marazzo, Lisa McCarthy, Deborah Rubinsohn and Gary Talewsky filed a preliminary injunction motion on October 16 seeking to preserve Paramount+ and HBO Max as viable, independent services. The filing is a revised version of an earlier case and acknowledges that the merger has already closed.

The plaintiffs are not currently asking the court to unwind the completed transaction. Instead, they want Skydance Media and Paramount Skydance Corporation to hold and operate the acquired Warner Bros. Discovery businesses separately until the case is resolved or the court issues another order.

That proposed separation would also cover identifiable film and national-news operations associated with the streaming businesses, maintaining the court’s ability to order an effective divestiture if the subscribers ultimately prevail.

Subscribers seek limits on streaming integration

The proposed nine-point order would require separate operational functions for the legacy Paramount streaming business and the acquired streaming operation. It would also direct the companies to preserve records that could reconstruct each business’s revenue, spending, contracts, subscribers, content rights and material assets.

Most significantly for customers, the proposed order says Skydance could not eliminate the standalone Paramount+ or HBO Max subscription products or force subscribers to move to a single replacement platform.

The request directly intersects with Skydance’s announced long-term strategy. David Ellison has confirmed that HBO Max and Paramount+ are expected to come together after an initial bundling period, although he has not disclosed details.

“Long-term, the plan is basically to bring them together,” Ellison said during a post-merger press conference. “I can’t be specific about that yet today.”

The injunction could delay plans being pursued by Ellison and Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz as they confront approximately $80 billion in debt at the combined company. Skydance is also seeking new equity investors to strengthen its financial position.

A renewed antitrust fight

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín previously dismissed an April-filed version of the subscribers’ case because the plaintiffs lacked standing. However, she allowed them to refile, which they have done through the San Francisco-based Alioto Law Firm and the Foreman & Brasso firms.

The plaintiffs are requesting a December 3 hearing before Martínez-Olguín. Their new filing argues that, although the transaction is complete, the court should protect its ability to provide a meaningful remedy. It also points to the recent price increase for the standalone Discovery+ service as part of the broader consequences surrounding the merger.

The requested restrictions would go beyond the terms of a September 21 settlement reached by Ellison and a coalition of 12 blue-state attorneys general in a separate antitrust dispute. Martínez-Olguín approved that settlement, clearing a final legal obstacle to the deal.

The Paramount-WBD merger was made official on September 30, while the WBD deal closed on October 6. The broader Paramount-WBD antitrust case is set for a dismissal hearing Wednesday.

Financial pressure adds to the stakes

The court fight arrives as Skydance’s shares struggle. After just under two weeks of trading as one company, the stock was down about 3% at midday Monday, changing hands below $7 and near its low. Shares had approached $10 when the WBD transaction closed on October 6.

For comparison, Paramount Skydance reached a 52-week high of $17 in fall 2026 after Paramount and Skydance merged. The subsequent WBD transaction was one of the largest leveraged buyouts in corporate history, placing greater focus on the combined company’s debt as interest rates rise.

Skydance is expected to face investors within weeks as earnings season begins, although the date remains to be announced. Wall Street is looking for Ellison to provide a strategy and address concerns about the company’s heavy debt load.

Skydance did not respond Monday to Deadline’s request for comment about the latest filing.

ShowBiz Take

This case matters because the subscribers are targeting the mechanics of integration rather than demanding an immediate reversal of the merger. If granted, the injunction would preserve Paramount+ and HBO Max as distinct products, require detailed financial and operational separation, and potentially slow Skydance’s plan to combine the services while the antitrust dispute moves forward.

That creates a consequential tension for the newly combined company: Skydance is trying to address its debt, reassure investors and develop a unified streaming strategy, while the plaintiffs want the court to prevent changes that could make a future divestiture difficult or impossible.

What Happens Next?

The immediate questions are whether Martínez-Olguín will schedule the requested December 3 hearing and whether she will impose any restrictions on integration. The separate dismissal hearing Wednesday, Skydance’s coming investor presentation and the still-unannounced details of its streaming consolidation plan will also shape what follows.