Per Reports, Paramount CEO Says HQ Will Stay in California

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has said the film and entertainment company's headquarters will remain in Los Angeles after weeks of speculation that the corporation could move due to an ongoing lawsuit led by California's attorney general. 

The antitrust lawsuit threatening Paramount's $111 billion planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday reached a settlement that requires the companies to keep studios in Los Angeles. The settlement has led to multiple media reports that the company would not be moving its operations to either Tennessee or Texas, as it had previously been eyeing. Just last week, Paramount premiered the Brad Pitt-starring Heart of the Beast at Williamson County's First Bank Amphitheater.

Report: Tennessee Officials Are Attempting to Lure Paramount

The Hollywood Reporter says Deputy Gov. Stuart McWhorter has contacted the embattled entertainment conglomerate

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development did not have a comment on Paramount's search in Tennessee as of Tuesday. TNECD Commissioner and Deputy Gov. Stuart McWhorter previously sent a letter asking Ellison to consider the Volunteer State in the company's search. 

But just because the studios are required to stay in California does not mean Paramount is not considering moving other operations. Company officials have not publicly addressed whether the search will continue. And in statements on Monday, Ellison made it clear that California is Paramount's home.

The settlement's consent decree states that the studio lots cannot be sold during the commitment period — just five years. Political winds could shift in that time. California and Tennessee will see new executive administrations after the 2026 election, with the presidential election on the horizon for 2028.

And that's just one piece of the settlement that California AG Rob Bonta and 12 other attorneys general have already seen criticism over, with multiple media reports citing "minor concessions" being made by Paramount in the deal.

Ellison has said that he expects the merger to be completed within the next two weeks, as it has already crossed other major U.S. regulatory hurdles.

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.