While the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has the power to block mergers it deems to violate antitrust laws, Trump's influence over the DOJ cannot be overlooked. While Paramount previously seemed to have a good relationship with the president, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos may have recently done the same.
Sarandos “spoke with the president in the last couple of weeks in a meeting that lasted about two hours.” Hollywood Reporter This was reported on Sunday, citing “multiple” anonymous sources. A White House spokesperson told the outlet that they could not comment on “private meetings that may or may not have taken place,” and Netflix did not respond to the outlet's requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Trump's relationship with the Ellisons and Paramount may have changed recently. Today, the President criticized Paramount over an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that aired on a news program. 60 minutes. As he said on Truth Social, according to Hollywood Reporter: “My real problem with the show, however, was not the low-IQ betrayal, but that the new owner of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERS, who just paid me millions of dollars for fake reports about your favorite president, me! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE.”
Appeal to the film industry
The movie theater industry is one of the biggest critics of Netflix's acquisition of WB over concerns that the streaming leader won't release as many films in theaters for a long time and could cut licensing fees. Paramount is leaning towards this trepidation.
As one of the oldest film studios (Paramount was founded as the Famous Players Film Company in 1912), Paramount has much deeper ties to the theatrical business. Ellison stated that if Paramount and WBD merged, there would be “more movies” in theaters.
Sarandos said last week that Netflix plans to maintain its current theatrical release schedule for WBD films, which reportedly runs until 2029.
On the streaming side, Paramount's statement pointed to a “combination of Paramount+ and HBO Max,” confirming a November report that Paramount will shut down HBO Max to its own flagship streaming service if it buys WBD.
With multiple industries, big names, billions of dollars and politics, the saga of the UBI split and/or merger is just beginning.
This article was updated Dec. 8 at 2:31 pm ET with comment from Sarandos.
