Republican Sen. Mike Lee signaled that a hearing over Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets is “almost certain,” warning that the deal has “a lot of antitrust red flags.”
“Stay tuned,” the Utah politician added in a Friday evening X post. Lee serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumers rights.
Representatives for Lee and Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment. Netflix declined to comment.
Lee’s concerns over the deal come after Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed the deal as an “anti-monopoly nightmare” that would “create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market” and could force consumers into “higher prices, fewer choices over what and how you watch.” She added that it “may put American workers at risk.”
Warren, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) previously sent a joint letter to the Department of Justice in November, asking that any regulatory review be “conducted transparently, independently and in accordance with federal antitrust and anti-corruption laws.”
In a Nov. 13 letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Department of Justice antitrust division assistant attorney general Gail Slater, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa also warned that a Netflix bid would raise antitrust concerns. He noted that consolidation between the two companies would “diminish incentives to produce new content and major theatrical releases,” which could “undermine opportunities for the full range of industry professionals both in front of and behind the camera.”
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall also sent a similar letter to the DOJ and FTC on Nov. 17 warning about a potential merger’s implications on pricing, competition, theatrical releases, and creative independence. In a new statement, he called the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal a “textbook horizontal Antitrust problem” and called on regulators to take a “hard look” and “realize how harmful it would be for consumers and Western society.”
When asked about the prospect of a WBD sale in November, a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta exclusively told TheWrap that “further consolidation in markets that are central to American economic life — whether in the financial, airline, grocery or broadcasting and entertainment markets — does not serve the American economy, consumers or competition well.
“We are committed to protecting consumers and California’s economy from consolidation we find unlawful,” the spokesperson added at the time.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said that the streamer is “highly confident in the regulatory process” and “running full speed” toward regulatory approval for its acquisition, with management expecting it to close in 12 to 18 months.
“This deal is pro consumer, pro innovation, pro worker, it’s pro creator, it’s pro growth, and our plans here are to work really closely with all the appropriate governments and regulators, but we’re really confident that we’re going to to get all the necessary approvals that we need,” Sarandos told analysts on Friday. “These two businesses are complementary, and they’re also loved businesses, which is really fantastic.”
More to come…
