On Sunday, American President Donald Trump expressed concerns over the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by streaming giant Netflix, labeling it as a potential issue regarding antitrust matters.
During an event at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, Trump was asked about the deal and he told reporters, “Well, it has to go through a process, we’ll see what happens.”
Trump confirmed that he had met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos last week and praised the streaming company. However, he told reporters, “This will be left to some economists to judge… but it does have a big market share, undoubtedly, this may be a problem.”
Netflix announced last Friday that it would acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion, which includes the film studio, television production facilities, and the “HBO Max” streaming division. This deal is set to be the largest acquisition in Netflix’s history and is expected to reshape the global entertainment and media industry.
Due to the merger of the world’s leading streaming giant with the fourth-largest media service “HBO Max,” antitrust regulatory authorities have already raised concerns.
Although Trump has not explicitly opposed the deal, he previously publicly opposed another major acquisition before taking office.
In October 2016, Trump publicly opposed the proposed merger of AT&T and Time Warner. At that time, the then-presidential candidate stated that it would lead to “an excessive concentration of power in the hands of a few” and called the merger “an example of the power structure that I’m fighting.”
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters stated last Friday that the deal would enhance the content offerings of the streaming platform over the “next few decades.”
He said, “With our global reach and proven business model, we can introduce the content they create to a broader audience – providing more choices for our members, attracting more fans to our first-class streaming service, strengthening the entire entertainment industry, and creating more value for shareholders.”