Lawmakers express concerns over WBD purchase by Netflix
Lawmakers express concerns over WBD purchase by Netflix
President Trump seemingly came out against the merger over the weekend, and Democratic lawmakers are voicing skepticism as well.
When a deal worth tens of billions of dollars is announced, elected officials generally stand up and take notice. And so far, it appears that significant amounts of skepticism are building around the planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets from those in Washington. President Trump seemed to show his disapproval of the merger on Sunday, and Democratic lawmakers are also indicating that they have serious reservations about the agreement.
Key Details:
- Presidential frown: President Trump reposted an article decrying Netflix’s cultural importance on Sunday.
- Bipartisan agreement: Democrats in the House have also shown wariness about the deal.
- Billions in the balance: Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to navigate a delicate sale process.
On Sunday, President Trump reposted an opinion piece from One America News’s John M. Pierce, which uses phrases like “ideological activism,” “woke,” and “progressive” to try to paint Netflix as a platform with a left-wing agenda. The article doesn’t contain any concrete evidence or specific claims to back up these assertions; it simply restates over and over its basic assertion that Netflix buying WBD would somehow lead to the cultural bankruptcy of the country.
The support of former vice president Kamala Harris in the 2024 election by Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has made the streamer a natural enemy of the administration, however. That’s the main reason that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos visited Trump in November, in order to try to mollify the upset executive.
But the deal between Netflix and WBD could have enemies on the other side of the political divide, as well. Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT), a member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, said last Wednesday that the deal is yet another massive media merger that Americans are growing weary of.
“Americans don’t like these mergers. They don’t want a few giant companies controlling what they see and what they hear,” Balint said. “We want choices, more choices. When these companies merge, things get better for the people at the top over and over again and worse for the rest of us.”
Democrats are also unenthused about the purchase of WBD by Paramount Skydance, which has also been in hot pursuit. Many lawmakers see the relationship between President Trump and Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, Larry, as a serious problem for the editorial independence of CBS, which has already opted not to air several news pieces in seeming deference to the president’s wishes — a dangerous precedent to set.
“This is not about antitrust law. This is a political and financial shakedown,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said of Paramount’s attempts to win the president to their side with its editorial decisions. “It is corruption. And one of the results is a newsroom that refuses to air news that the administration disfavors.”
The WBD board announced in December that it was accepting Netflix’s bid — valued at more than $80 billion — for its streaming and studio segments. Since then, Paramount has launched a hostile takeover bid to try to win shareholders over to its offer. Whichever side ultimately wins will have to get regulatory approval before the deal can be finalized.
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