President Donald Trump says he will stay out of the escalating fight between Netflix and Paramount Skydance over Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a clear reversal from the comments he made late last year that hinted at personal involvement.
Donald Trump talks about Netflix and Paramount’s fight
Trump explicitly stated his intention to stay out of the fray between streaming titan Netflix and the Paramount Skydance consortium. “I haven’t been involved,” Trump told NBC Nightly News. “I must say, I guess I’m considered to be a very strong president. I’ve been called by both sides. It’s the two sides, but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.”
The comments are a major change from December, when Trump publicly questioned whether Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would pass regulatory scrutiny due to market concentration concerns. At the time, he suggested he would consult economists and be involved in the decision.
Pressed on the dispute itself, Trump acknowledged the sharp divide between the bidders. “There’s a theory that one of the companies is too big and it shouldn’t be allowed to do it, and the other company is saying something else,” he said. “They’re beating the hell out of each other — and there’ll be a winner.”
This is in reference to when Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire key Warner Bros. Discovery assets, including its film studio and HBO. This was challenged by a competing bid from Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, whose father, Larry, is an Oracle billionaire and a prominent Trump supporter. The Ellison family’s controlling stake in Paramount and their relationship with Trump added a layer of politics to the corporate showdown.
Donald Trump’s decision to step back could be seen as favorable to Netflix, which already has an agreed-upon deal and recently amended its bid to an all-cash offer to fend off Paramount’s hostile takeover attempt.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.com.
