‘Could be a problem’: Trump warns Netflix–Warner Bros $83 bn deal may face regulatory roadblocks

US President Donald Trump on Sunday cautioned that Netflix’s planned $83 billion takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery could run into regulatory obstacles, saying the size of the merged entity “could be a problem”. While speaking at an event in Washington, DC, Trump remarked that Netflix already holds a big market share and that its influence would expand significantly if the acquisition goes through.

“Very big market share,” he said, adding that it would “go up by a lot” if the acquisition proceeds. He added that he expects to play a direct role in assessing whether the deal should be approved, according to a report in The Telegraph.

On Friday, the companies announced that they had reached an agreement that would place Warner Brothers’ major film and television franchises under the umbrella of Netflix. The deal must still be reviewed by the US competition regulators, with the Justice Department’s antitrust division likely to scrutinise whether the combined business would wield enough power in the streaming sector to violate federal law.

Donald Trump calls Netflix’s co-CEO a “great person”

Trump also said Netflix’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, had recently visited the Oval Office, calling him a “great person” who has “done one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies”. Meanwhile, Sarandos acknowledged that the agreement might have attracted some of the investors off guard but considered it a long-term strategic decision to position Netflix for the “decades to come”.

Meanwhile, the deal is also facing a row from Hollywood insiders. The Writers Guild of America’s East and West branches requested regulators to stop the takeover and argued that “the largest streaming giant of the world swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent”.

Following the development, the unions cautioned that the deal would push down wages, eliminate jobs, and worsen conditions for all the workers in the entertainment sector. He also said that it will increase the prices for consumers and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.