Trump Voices Concerns Over Netflix’s $72B Warner Bros. Deal
The White House hints at involvement in the review of a deal that could reshape Hollywood.
President Donald Trump signaled concerns on Sunday about Netflix’s $72 billion plan to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, marking his first public comments on a media deal that would dramatically reshape Hollywood’s power.
Speaking to reporters on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors, Trump praised Netflix as a “great company” with a “phenomenal” track record, but made clear the merger is far from a done deal.
“That’s got to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens,” he said, adding that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos “is a fantastic man” but that the combined company would hold “a lot of market share.”
Trump said he met with Sarandos in the Oval Office last week and praised his leadership in the entertainment industry. But his comments underscored a growing political dimension to the deal, which would merge the world’s largest streamer with Warner Bros., HBO, and a deep catalog of film and studio assets.
The Justice Department is already preparing to examine the transaction, which unites two of the three biggest streaming platforms and this year’s top-performing studio.
The review is expected to focus heavily on competition and consumer impact. Paramount CEO David Ellison previously ran his own bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and looked to Trump in an effort to clear potential regulatory hurdles.
Trump said Sunday that he expects to be involved in the scrutiny process, signaling that the White House could take an active role as the deal advances.
The merger’s announcement jolted Hollywood on Friday, sending shockwaves through the industry and raising urgent questions about the future of Warner Bros. Discovery and the broader streaming landscape as Netflix positions itself to become an even more dominant global platform.