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I know that 1948 [when U.S. v. Paramount was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court] was a long time ago, and that antitrust decisions/regulations/etc. seem to weaken over time, but....

The Paramount Global CBS Viacom Whatever conglomerate, majority-owned by National Amusements, Inc., is a company that integrates production of TV shows and movies with distribution of those shows and movies.....

In light of the ongoing writers' strike, should these conglomerates be broken up again? [Ed. The writer's strike ended on September 27, 2023.]

ohwilleke
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Kurt Hikes
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1 Answers1

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Markets change over time

Most anti-trust/monopoly laws are framed in terms of market dominance.

In 1948, the only market for video was the cinema. That was an inherently local market; outside the big cities, customers literally had one and only one realistic option.

In 2023, the market for video is on multiple platforms, geographically unrestricted, largely independent of time, and probably includes non-video media. The market is bigger so what it takes to dominate the market is also bigger.

Dale M
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