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Trump warns Netflix-Warner Bros. $72B deal could be a problem
Sanctuary Wealth chief funding strategist Mary Ann Bartels and Michael Lee Technique founder Michael Lee be part of Mornings with Maria to debate antitrust issues over the deliberate acquisition of Warner Bros. by tackling Netflix.
President Donald Trump raised antitrust issues on Sunday over Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and warned that the mixed market share could possibly be an issue.
Netflix agreed on Friday to accumulate Warner Bros. movie and tv studios and streaming platform. Discovery, HBO Max, in a cash-and-stock deal value $27.75 per Warner Bros. share. Discovery.
“It has to undergo a course of and we’ll see what occurs… Netflix is an important firm, they’ve achieved an exceptional job. [Netflix CEO] Ted [Sarandos] is a incredible man, I’ve lots of respect for him, however it’s a massive market share. So we’ll must see what occurs,” Trump mentioned as he walked into the Kennedy Heart.
PARAMOUNT LAUNCHES HOSTILE TAKEOVER BID FOR WARNER BROS DISCOVERY, SAYS OFFER IS ‘SUPERIOR’ THAN NETFLIX DEAL
President Donald Trump and first girl Melania Trump arrive for the forty eighth Kennedy Heart Honors Gala on the Kennedy Heart in Washington, DC, on December 7, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Photographs)
Trump mentioned economists ought to look at the deal earlier than figuring out that he himself will play a job.
“I can be concerned in that call,” Trump added. ‘They’ve a extremely massive one market shareand in the event that they warn Warner Bros. have, you realize, that inventory going up quite a bit.”
Trump’s feedback got here earlier than Paramount introduced a hostile takeover bid on Monday.
Many have spoken out in opposition to the proposed Netflix deal.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competitors Coverage and Shopper Rights, introduced {that a} listening to could be pending on the streaming big’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio property value $82.7 billion. He claimed the deal had “many antitrust warnings.”
“Prepare for an intense antitrust listening to within the Senate,” Lee mentioned on X.
SENATE PREPARE FOR ‘INTENSIVE’ ANTITRUST HEARING IN WAKE OF NETFLIX, WARNER BROS DEAL
President Donald Trump raised antitrust issues over the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters / Reuters)
Senator Elizabeth WarrenD-Mass., mentioned it “appears like an anti-monopoly nightmare.”
“A Netflix-Warner Bros. would create one huge media big that controls almost half the streaming market. It may power you into greater costs, fewer decisions about what and the way you watch, and will put American staff in danger,” Warren wrote on X.
Warren blasted Trump, saying that underneath his management the nation’s antitrust overview course of had turn out to be “a cesspool of political cronyism and corruption.” She then known as on the Justice Division to implement anti-monopoly legal guidelines “pretty and transparently” and never “impose Warner Bros. deal overview.” to ask affect and bribery’.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA), a union representing writers in movie, tv, radio and extra, issued a scathing assertion in opposition to the proposed deal, saying “this merger should be blocked.”
“The world’s largest streaming firm gobbling up certainly one of its greatest rivals is what antitrust legal guidelines had been designed to stop. The end result would eradicate jobs, depress wages, worsen situations for all leisure staff, elevate costs for customers, and cut back the amount and variety of content material for all viewers,” the WGA assertion mentioned.
NETFLIX BUY WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY IN $72B DEAL
Paramount CEO David Ellison introduced a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. (Charly Tribelleau/AFP by way of Getty Photographs/Getty Photographs)
Netflix has argued that the deal would give clients extra selection and larger worth, present alternatives for the artistic neighborhood, result in a stronger leisure trade and ship larger worth to shareholders. The boards of administrators of each Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery unanimously permitted the deal.
Beneath the deal, Netflix would add franchises, exhibits and movies corresponding to “The Large Bang Idea,” “The Sopranos,” “Sport of Thrones,” “The Wizard of Oz” and the DC Universe to its in depth library.
Netflix will let Warner Bros. To not purchase Discovery if Paramount CEO David Ellison has something to do with it, as he launched an all-cash supply Monday to accumulate Warner Bros.’ excellent shares. to accumulate Discovery for $30.00 per share in money, suggesting it’s a “superior” supply than the just lately introduced Netflix deal.
“We’re bringing our providing on to shareholders to provide them the chance to behave in their very own greatest pursuits and maximize the worth of their shares,” Ellison mentioned.
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Paramount mentioned in a information launch that regulatory certainty is without doubt one of the causes it considers itself a greater match.
“Paramount is assured in receiving early regulatory approval for the proposed providing because it will increase competitors and is pro-consumer whereas creating a powerful champion for artistic expertise and client selection,” the press launch mentioned. “In distinction, the Netflix transaction is predicated on the unrealistic assumption that the anticompetitive mixture with WBD, which might consolidate the monopoly with a 43% share of world Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) subscribers, may stand up to a number of long-standing regulatory challenges around the globe.”
Fox Information Digital’s Rachel Wolf, Alex Miller and Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.