Why Donald Trump wants Susan Rice fired from Netflix amid Netflix-Paramount-Warner Bros bidding war
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Why Donald Trump wants Susan Rice fired from Netflix amid Netflix-Paramount-Warner Bros bidding war")
Susan Rice speaks on December 11, 2020, after being nominated to be Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council by US President-elect Joe Biden (R), in Wilmington, Delaware Photograph: (AFP)
Donald Trump demands Netflix fire board member Susan Rice amid a high-stakes bidding war with Paramount over Warner Bros. Here’s what sparked the clash.
US President Donald Trump demanded that Netflix fire the “Trump-deranged” board member, former President Barack Obama's national security adviser and United Nations ambassador, Susan Rice, from its board of directors or face consequences. The statement comes amid a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount to acquire Warner Bros.
"Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences. She’s got no talent or skills - Purely a political hack!" wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform.
Why does Trump want Susan Rice fired from Netflix?
Trump shared a screenshot of the post by Laura Loomer, which highlighted Rice's comment about Trump, where she threatened those who "took a knee" to the President. She suggested that if the Democrats prevail in the mid-term and next Presidential election, they should not forget about it. This political dimension of the financial war between Paramount and Netflix emerged due to Trump's not-so-hidden support for Paramount, whose owner, Larry Ellison, is a longtime Trump ally. Trump further called Netflix an "anti-American, woke company," pointing to its content which deal with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions.
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The three-way drama of Netflix-Paramount-Warner Bros
The scale of the merger between Netflix and Warner Bros is problematic to the industry regulator as it might provide Netflix with an industry monopoly, killing the theatrical release, and moving to extreme streaming dominance. This will also put strain on creators and consumers as they will have very little choice. The deal remains vulnerable to antitrust intervention. Netflix deal focuses mostly on the streaming services like HBO Max and other legacy title with with $72 billion (all-cash) for the studio and streaming business and with an enterprise value of $83 billion. On the other hand, Paramount is attempting a hostile takeover of Warner Bros for $77.9 billion, with an enterprise value of $108 billion (including debt), including its declining platforms like MTV and Vh1. This will put the cumulative debt of Paramount at $87–$95 billion. The Warner Bros board is leaning towards the Netflix deal. However, the Poly market predicts a 73 per cent chance of Netflix failing to close a deal by the end of calendar year 2026. Netflix has allowed Warner Bros a seven-day window to reopen negotiations with Paramount to convince shareholder into leaving a higher bid from Paramount.
