December 05, 2025

Warren on Netflix-Warner Bros. Proposed Deal: “Anti-Monopoly Nightmare”

Washington, D.C. – Today, in response to the news that Netflix will buy Warner Bros. after a weeks-long bidding war, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement:

“This deal looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare. A Netflix-Warner Bros. would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market — threatening to force Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch, while putting American workers at risk.

“Under Donald Trump, the antitrust review process has also become a cesspool of political favoritism and corruption. The Justice Department must enforce our nation’s anti-monopoly laws fairly and transparently — not use the Warner Bros. deal review to invite influence-peddling and bribery.”

Senator Warren has long sounded the alarm on antitrust concerns and apparent political favoritism in the Trump administration’s handling of media mergers:

  • On November 21, while on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Senator Warrencalled out Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison on his own network.
  • On November 19, Senator Warren led Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in writing to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, warning that a potential Warner Bros. deal could be tainted by political favoritism and corruption.
  • On August 1, Senator Warren released a statement in response to Paramount’s and Skydance’s responses to her letters to each of the companies, describing the responses as “dodgy” and calling for “a full, independent investigation” into whether the companies or their executives engaged in any criminal behavior connected to the approval of the companies’ multi-billion-dollar merger.
  • On July 24, Sen. Warren responded to the Trump administration’s approval of the Paramount Skydance merger, saying: “bribery is illegal no matter who is president.”
  • On February 20, Sen. Warren urged the DOJ to closely scrutinize the proposed Disney-Fubo deal and warned of increased costs for TV viewers.

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