President Donald Trump has removed himself from the high-stakes streaming war over Warner Bros. Discovery, but that doesn’t mean the fight is over, especially for Paramount.
Trump: “I haven’t been involved”
Speaking with NBC News anchor Tom Llamas from the Oval Office, Trump revealed he’s staying out of the brewing antitrust showdown between Netflix and Paramount over WBD.
“I haven’t been involved,” Trump said. “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.”
While not naming the companies directly, Trump did acknowledge concerns about media consolidation.
“There is 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 are beating the hell out of each other, and there will be a winner.”
Senate Hearings Show Netflix Still Under Fire
Trump stepping back doesn’t clear the road for Netflix.
As seen in recent Senate hearings, multiple Republican senators grilled CEO Ted Sarandos over Netflix’s content and dominance, and continue to do so on social media.
Senator Josh Hawley directly accused Netflix of pushing a “transgender ideology” in children’s programming.
Paramount May Not Need Trump: Betting on a DOJ Block
Even without Trump’s direct support, Paramount and Skydance remain optimistic.
Puck News‘ Bill Cohan reports that Paramount and Skydance’s new chief legal officer is Makan Delrahim, the former DOJ antitrust head who led the effort to stop AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner.
Paramount and Skydance believe history may repeat, and the DOJ could once again step in to block a megamerger.
Cohan writes, “Meanwhile, at a Wall Street Journal conference in Florida yesterday, PSKY M&A advisor Blair Effron predicted that his team was going to win WBD in the end.”
