The Senate is readying for an antitrust hearing following the announcement of a blockbuster, multibillion-dollar merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, announced that a hearing on the streaming giant’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets would be in the works, claiming the deal had “a lot of antitrust red flags.”
“Buckle up for an intense antitrust hearing in the Senate,” Lee said on X.
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Netflix announced the deal on Friday, which would include acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery and the company’s television and film studios and its massive catalog of movies and shows, along with HBO and the streaming service HBO Max.
The timing of Lee’s hearing has yet to be announced.
Lee isn’t the only lawmaker raising concerns about the acquisition. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called the deal an “anti-monopoly nightmare.”
“A Netflix-Warner Bros. would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market,” she said on X. “It could force you into higher prices, fewer choices over what and how you watch and may put American workers at risk.”
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She also charged that under President Donald Trump, “the antitrust review process has also become a cesspool of political favoritism and corruption,” and she demanded that the Department of Justice (DOJ) enforce the country’s anti-monopoly laws.
Her warning comes after she and Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote in a letter last month to the DOJ that they were concerned about Trump’s “personal stance” on other media companies, particularly his personal relationship with Paramount Skydance CEO Larry Ellison.
“Some commentators have speculated that Netflix’s bid could face more skepticism because of the Netflix CEO’s and employees’ track records of donating to Democrats,” they said.
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“Unbiased enforcement of antitrust and telecommunications laws is necessary to promote market growth and economic security for working families,” they continued. “The DOJ must ensure that review of any potential transaction involving Warner Bros. is grounded in the law, not President Trump’s political favoritism.”
Trump may get directly involved in the deal, too. The president told reporters on Sunday while walking into the Kennedy Center that the Netflix acquisition “could be a problem.”
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He noted that he would discuss the deal with economists and said, “I’ll be involved” in what happens to the acquisition.
“They have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Bros., you know, that share goes up a lot,” he said.
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