August 19, 2026
Contact:
Angela Herrera Perez, Senior Public Information Specialist
press@opportunity.lacounty.gov
LA County Releases Final 120-Day Report on Potential Economic and Workforce Impacts of Paramount Skydance Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery
Analysis projects up to 4,500 local film and TV jobs directly and 10,360 total jobs indirectly exposed, with up to $4.06 billion in business output and $547 million in tax revenue at risk
Los Angeles, CA — Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and the LA County Film Office released the final 120-day report evaluating the potential economic and workforce impacts of the proposed Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The report builds on the 60-day interim report submitted to the Board on June 18, 2026, and is in response to a March 17, 2026, motion authored by Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath and approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The LA County Film Office – DEO retained CVL Economics, a Los Angeles-based economic consulting firm with expertise in the media and entertainment industry, to prepare the final report. The report expands on the 60-day interim report with a comprehensive evaluation of production-workforce implications, the continuing decline in local production capture, potential property tax impacts, and effects on crews, crafts, post-production personnel, vendors, and production-serving small businesses, alongside the direct, indirect, and induced economic impact modeling required by the motion.
“This report confirms what we feared: 4,500 direct film and television jobs, more than 10,000 total job-years, and $4.06 billion in business output are at risk,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “Los Angeles has already lost too many jobs, too much production, and too many people who make this industry possible. We cannot afford to lose another generation of Hollywood workers. We will fight for their livelihoods and the future of our signature industry.”
The final report focuses on the merger’s production workforce implications and quantifies, in job years, the work capacity at risk if the consolidation occurs as anticipated. The job year unit equals one full-time job that lasts for exactly one year. CVL Economics estimates that approximately 4,500 direct film and TV jobs in Los Angeles County could be lost over the three-year period during which the companies combine operations, with a total of 10,360 job years exposed, including 2,661 indirect jobs at small businesses that support production, like prop houses, printers, transportation companies, and other vendors. 3,204 jobs induced from local production spending in the broader economy could also be at risk. These figures are not layoff forecasts; the companies have not announced job cuts of the scale modeled. Rather, they represent an analytical estimation of the potential risk to Los Angeles County if the transaction closes and consolidation proceed along the pathways described in the analysis.
The economic stakes for the region are equally significant: an estimated $1.26 billion in wages, $2.78 billion in economic value, $4.06 billion in total business output, and $547 million in tax revenue – including $78.6 million in local taxes – is threatened by the merger. The potential job losses fit into the broader contraction the industry is undergoing, representing nearly 9 percent of the 52,016 film and TV jobs California has already lost since 2022, nearly all (99.6 percent) of which have occurred in Los Angeles County. The report identifies five mechanisms that would transmit merger-driven reductions into local job losses: slate consolidation as fewer buyers greenlight fewer projects; shared below-the-line workforce vulnerability; risk to creators holding exclusive deals across the two companies; location decisions that can swing California production depending on scenario; and cost-of-living and tax credit pressures that continue to shift work out of state and out of the country.
“Understanding the full scope of these economic and workforce impacts is critical to how we respond,” said Kelly LoBianco, Director of DEO. “This data gives us a clearer picture of where workers, small businesses, and the broader entertainment ecosystem are most vulnerable, so we can provide timely information and shape supportive policies, programs, and investments that meet the industry’s changing needs. Our goal is not only to protect what makes LA County the global home of entertainment, but to help this industry evolve, remain competitive, and create quality opportunities for the next generation.”
The trajectory of the proposed merger has shifted since the June interim report. The U.S. Department of Justice closed its review and approved the transaction on June 12, 2026. Shortly thereafter, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, now joined by eleven other state attorneys general, filed suit to block the merger on antitrust grounds. Under a court stipulation entered July 24, 2026, the parties may not close the transaction until the earlier of five days after a decision on the merits or June 1, 2027, with trial set for March 2 through19, 2027. The extended timeline provides additional preparation time but also prolongs the period during which Los Angeles County’s entertainment workforce is exposed to potential restructuring impacts.
In response, the LA County Film Office – DEO is advancing a workforce action plan that leverages the County’s 18 America’s Job Centers of California (AJCCs), High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs), including investments in Arts, Media, and Entertainment HRTPs with partners like BRIC and the Worldwide Starship Foundation. The plan includes coordinated job fairs with regional employers and expedited access to Unemployment Insurance, public benefits, and health insurance, where needed, and consultation with the California Film Commission to explore direct connections between potentially dislocated workers and employers receiving California production tax credits.
“The global media and entertainment industry is in a period of profound structural realignment, and declining linear television revenue is only one pressure among many. Our modeling estimates the employment vulnerability this region faces over the next three years. The historic leverage of this transaction will require aggressive shifts in cash flow to service debt, and most of the available levers moving production to lower-cost regions, rationalizing real estate, and eliminating duplicative operations, carry direct consequences for Los Angeles County’s entertainment sector,” said Adam Fowler, CVL Economics Co-Founder and lead author, summarizing the final report’s methodology.
Los Angeles County’s creative economy supports more than 312,000 workers, including approximately 171,155 entertainment sector jobs. The report comes as the industry continues to recover from the production contractions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes, and the January 2025 wildfires. FilmLA data shows on-location production activity in the County declined 16 percent in 2025 compared to 2024.
The LA County Film Office and DEO invested significant resources to support the entertainment ecosystem during recent disruptions, including $4 million awarded to 363 small and micro businesses through the Entertainment Business Interruption Fund, and continues to advance efforts led by the Board of Supervisors and key motions to streamline permitting, improve production conditions, and increase access to capital and talent to encourage industry retention and growth in the regional entertainment economy. July 17, 2026 Report.
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About DEO: The LA County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has a vision for a more equitable economy with thriving communities, inclusive and sustainable growth, and opportunity and mobility for all. The department, with its America’s Job Centers of California, Office of Small Business, LA County Film Office, and hundreds of programs and partners, creates quality jobs, helps small businesses and high-road employers start and grow, and builds vibrant communities and spaces. Stay connected with DEO! Follow @EconOppLA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter, or visit opportunity.lacounty.gov to learn about DEO services.