The widely reported meeting between Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Trump White House officials was canceled just hours before the streamer bowed out of the race to acquire Warner Bros. last week, TheWrap has learned.
Sarandos was in Washignton, D.C. on Thursday for a series of meetings set up in the weeks prior to discuss Netflix’s $83 billion deal for Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming assets. And while he met with the Department of Justice in the morning, an individual with knowledge of the executive’s trip told TheWrap that his scheduled White House meeting that afternoon never happened.
The White House allegedly canceled the meeting last minute, citing a scheduling conflict, according to Axios, who first reported the news. Sarandos was set to meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, but it was unclear whether the executive was to meet with President Donald Trump.
Netflix declined to comment. Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The content of Sarandos’ D.C. trip and, specifically, the conversations had with the Trump White House have been under major scrutiny since Paramount’s whiplash victory to buy Warner Bros. Discovery out from under Netflix’s deal on Thursday. Many media pundits posited that the meeting prompted Sarandos to back out of the bidding war after the WBD board determined Paramount’s $31 per share offer was the “superior” bid. The meeting also came as Trump demanded that Netflix fire board member and former UN ambassador Susan Rice or “pay the consequences” — a demand that Sarandos denied.
Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Wiles, in which they demanded transparency around the Sarandos meetings.
The group specifically asked what their role was in Netflix abandoning its $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. studio and streaming assets and whether the political influence of the Trump administration helped Paramount win the bidding war.
“The American people deserve to know what Mr. Sarandos was seeking in your meetings, what you said to him, and how your discussions may have contributed to Netflix backing out of the bidding war while the Antitrust Division’s investigation was still pending,” the letter read.
The White House maintained they remained neutral throughout negotiations, saying that the president has “great relationships” with both Netflix and Paramount.
“The White House and Trump administration remained totally neutral through the bidding process that was determined solely by the economics of both offers, as confirmed by Netflix’s CEO himself,” a White House official said.
The Democratic leaders’ letter came after Sarandos told Bloomberg in a lengthy interview that Netflix already planned to drop out after receiving notice that Warner Bros.’ board was going to reopen negotiations with Paramount.
