California Sen. Adam Schiff wants to see Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery face the “highest levels of scrutiny” — without interference from President Donald Trump’s White House — in order to ensure that the multi-billion-dollar merger benefits Hollywood in the long run.
“What was true for Netflix is still true now for Paramount,” Schiff shared in a statement. “The merger of two of Hollywood’s biggest studios must be subject to the highest levels of scrutiny, free from White House political influence, to determine its impact on American jobs, freedom of speech and the future of one of our nation’s greatest exports.”
“We need to bring moviemaking back to our shores, increase production and invest in our workforce,” he continued. “For the sake of America’s moviemaking workforce and movie lovers everywhere, I will continue to push all parties to do their part.”
On Thursday, Warner Bros. declared Paramount’s amended bid to be the “superior proposal” over Netflix, prompting the streamer to remove itself from contention despite already facing an anti-trust investigation from the Department of Justice.
“We are pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement.
“Once our Board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders,” WBD CEO David Zaslav added. “We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world.”
“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix then explained upon its exit. “However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren openly questioned what suddenly changed on Thursday after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles: “Looks like crony capitalism with the President corrupting the merger process in favor of the billionaire Ellison family.”
California AG Rob Bonta similarly noted that Skydance-Paramount-Warner Bros.-Discovery is “not a done deal,” saying, “These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny — the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review.”
