High-ranking White House officials recently discussed the antitrust implications of the reported bid about if the acquisition would give Netflix “too much power over Hollywood, according to a report from The New York Post.
The report cited a government official present at the meeting who says the officials indicated that a broader investigation is required to fully comprehend Netflix’s market power before such a huge acquisition goes through. Netflix reportedly made another all-cash offer to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, or WBD, including the major studio and HBO Max. However, the bid led by the US streaming giant has raised red flags among senior officials within the Trump administration over the deal’s impact on Hollywood. The private meeting was almost ten days ago.
In a statement to The New York Post, the government official said: “Basically, everyone agreed that Netflix presents unique antitrust concerns and if it won the bidding war it would be one long slog and touch off an investigation along the lines of those of Google and Amazon.”
“Netflix already has market dominance, but if you add a major streaming service that would stifle competition at some point,” the official noted. One official warned that this is “something that the company has avoided until now.” However, some senior White House officials are skeptical. They are concerned that Netflix already has too much sway in Hollywood. If the company prevails, the transaction could spark a protracted investigation by the DOJ’s antitrust division, which may also scrutinise into Netflix’s overall business.