According to Deadline, the co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos (Okja, Mute), faced off against a Senate subcommittee over its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Lawmakers from both parties pressed serious concerns o over the combination, citing in particular the streaming giant’s dominance.
As per Deadline, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) questioned Sarandos over reports that he met with President Donald Trump on November 24. This was just weeks before the deal was announced for Netflix to gain the right to Warner Bros Discovery’s Warner Bros studio, HBO and HBO Max for $83 billion in cash.
According to Deadline, Trump stated that he will be involved in the review of the merger. Although this is what Trump wanted, Sarandos said that the potential transaction was a smaller part of his conversation with the president compared to broader issues about the entertainment industry, including production incentives, tariffs and runaway production.
“I have met with the president a few times. We have talked about the state of the entertainment industry, in general, production, the economy, runaway production, value of incentives, the cost of tariffs, all the different ways that we an protect American jobs,” said Sarandos, who gave testimony in the hearing of the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee alongside Warner Bros Discovery executive Bruce Campbell via Deadline. “I think it’s wholly proper for the president of the United States to talk to leaders of industry about the industries that they’re running.”
Sarandos said via Deadline, that Trump “asked what was going on, how the deal was going. I gave him a general overview of what we were doing. And that was a very small part” of the meeting.
As per Deadline, Booker as whether it is appropriate for Trump to be involved in the review, Sarandos said, “I have confidence in this case on the merits and that it will be run by the Department of Justice.”
According to Deadline, Booker pressed on the issue of whether it was appropriate for the president to be involved in the merger review. Sarandos said, “I don’t know if he is involved or not. I will say that this merger stands on its merits and will be reviewed by the Department of Justice.” His comment also was a reminder that lawmakers don’t have a say on the merger. After the hearing, Sarandos told Deadline that he thought that the hearing “went well.”