US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would join a review by federal regulators of a proposed integration deal between streaming platform Netflix and Hollywood studio Warner Bros.
The companies announced the agreement on Friday. Netflix will acquire parts of Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion (€84 billion) if the sale is completed.
If approved by regulators, the deal would unite two of the biggest names in entertainment, Netflix and Warner Bros., the studio behind “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones” and DC movies.
What did Trump say on the deal between Netflix and Warner Bros.?
“I will be involved in that decision,” Trump told reporters as he arrived at the Kennedy Center for his annual awards ceremony.
The US president was referring to federal regulators reviewing the deal, which has raised antitrust concerns in Hollywood.
If the deal is greenlit, Netflix – already the world’s largest streaming platform – will control one of Hollywood’s most recognizable film and TV houses.
Although Trump did not comment on whether he supported the deal, the US president suggested that Netflix’s concentration of market power could be an issue.
Trump said, “It’s going to take some economists to explain … but it’s a big market share. There’s no doubt it could be a problem.”
How did Hollywood react to this deal?
Cinemas United, a trade organization that represents movie theaters across the US, said Friday that the deal risks eliminating 25% of the annual box office in the US and is an “unprecedented threat” to cinemas around the world.
The Writers Guild trade union has called for the merger to be stopped.
“The world’s largest streaming company is swallowing up one of its biggest competitors, which antitrust laws were designed to prevent,” the group said in a statement.
“Titanic” director James Cameron said before the announcement that any Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. would be a “disaster” for movie theaters, citing concerns that the streaming giant might want to limit cinema releases of its film productions.
Kathleen Brooks, a researcher at trading and investment firm XTB, told the AFP news agency on Friday that Netflix aims to “dominate Hollywood.” He warned that the deal raises several potential issues, namely Netflix’s monopoly on the TV and film business.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko