Netflix is making ready for a prolonged authorized overview of its bid to buy Warner Bros., and President Trump is holding his choices open.
The president expressed skepticism about the deal Sunday evening and mentioned he’ll be “involved in that decision,” probably portending a protracted and politically tainted overview. But he additionally praised Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and he notably didn’t explicitly come out in opposition to the deal. Nor has he posted something crucial about it on Truth Social.
Predicting coverage choices from a transactional president stays a idiot’s errand. Big enterprise executives have more and more sought to get on Trump’s good facet this time period, in many circumstances efficiently exchanging guarantees of investments in Trump’s pet initiatives for favorable remedy. But Trump has to weigh the sturdy enterprise relationships he seeks in opposition to his populist agenda and a base that is clamoring for the Justice Department to challenge Netflix.
For now he is defaulting to “we’ll see what happens.”
This is a major shift from 2016, throughout a earlier sale of HBO and Warner’s guardian firm. Days earlier than he gained reelection the first time, Trump mentioned his administration wouldn’t approve the AT&T-Time Warner merger, saying, “It’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” He cited the deal as “an example of the power structure I’m fighting.”
Some distinguished Trump influencers are saying a lot the similar factor this time round. MAGA media commentators like Steve Bannon and Matt Gaetz spoke out in opposition to Netflix’s $72 billion deal for Warner Bros. as quickly because it was introduced final Friday.
“TRUMP MUST STOP THIS!” wrote Gaetz, who was in line to run the Justice Department earlier this 12 months.
It’s regular for the Justice Department’s antitrust division to look at a mega-merger proposal and think about suing to dam the deal. But it’s not regular for the president to brazenly opine about it, or to say that he’ll be concerned.
Going again a long time, authorities regulators have typically operated independently of the president, insulated from political stress.
Trump blew up these norms throughout his first time period, resulting in widespread considerations about favor-trading and corruption.
Trump vs. AT&T
The current offers involving HBO and Warner display what’s modified. Keep in thoughts that NCS and HBO are a part of the similar company household, though that may change subsequent 12 months when Warner Bros. Discovery breaks itself into two publicly traded items.
Back in 2017, with Trump in workplace and his opposition to the AT&T-Time Warner deal on the file, Trump and his aides tried to affect NCS’s protection of the president, understanding that the guardian firm wanted the Trump administration’s approval to merge. There was discuss of doubtless changing NCS’s president to appease Trump, and discuss of Rupert Murdoch attempting to purchase NCS to attain the similar consequence.
But Time Warner administration defended NCS’s independence and didn’t intervene or unload the information channel. In truth, some sources mentioned at the time that Trump’s perceived meddling stiffened the spines of the executives.
When the Justice Department sued to dam the deal, AT&T and Time Warner went by means of the lengthy authorized course of, somewhat than throwing in the towel.
Justice Department officers insisted that the lawsuit was not associated to Trump’s grievances with NCS. And Trump – not but bragging about his energy the method he does now – waved off strategies that he was concerned.
“Well, I didn’t make the decision,” he mentioned when the Justice Department intervened.
But the folks working Time Warner perceived his affect. And at the finish of the day, the courtroom dominated in opposition to the Trump administration, so HBO and NCS had been allowed to alter fingers.
The subsequent time the property went on the block, in 2021, Trump was out of workplace, and there was no hypothesis about the Biden administration taking motion primarily based on the president’s private emotions.
As Sen. Amy Klobuchar mentioned in 2017, is a “long tradition” of the Justice Department making authorized choices “based on the facts of a case and not based on outside meddling or any kind of a political decision.”
That quote appears an historical textual content now. Trump’s private involvement with the Justice Department is out in the open. A current research by Reuters discovered greater than 470 “targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership” up to now.
Sarandos and Trump
Netflix isn’t oblivious to this. Sarandos cast a private relationship with Trump shortly after the 2024 election, an individual accustomed to the matter advised NCS.
The two males had a protracted, pleasant dinner at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024. That meant Sarandos had an open line of communication to Trump when Netflix entered the bidding battle for Warner Bros. and HBO.
Sarandos flew to Washington and met with Trump in the Oval Office final month, the supply mentioned, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg.
Trump then confirmed the Sarandos assembly throughout a Q&A with reporters on the purple carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors – an occasion he hosted, underscoring his curiosity in all issues Hollywood.
The president mentioned he has a “lot of respect” for Sarandos and alluded to a first-name-basis relationship: “Ted has really done a legendary job.”
But he additionally referenced the antitrust considerations at subject, saying the mixed market share of Netflix and HBO might be an issue.
Netflix has its solutions prepared, pointing to large rivals like YouTube and an always-changing aggressive set round the world.
And the firm has expressed its confidence with its pockets: Netflix agreed to pay Warner Bros. Discovery a $5.8 billion breakup price if the deal fails to beat regulatory hurdles.
That’s considered one of the greatest breakup charges in company historical past.
Ultimately, it gained’t be Trump’s choice to make — the courts will determine the deal’s destiny if it’s challenged. But Trump may make the most earth-shattering Hollywood merger in years considerably harder to maneuver ahead.