DOJ Probes Netflix’s Power Over Filmmakers in Warner Deal Review

The Justice Department’s investigation of Netflix Inc.’s proposed $72 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. includes scrutiny of the streaming giant’s behavior and whether it wields anticompetitive leverage over creators in negotiations for acquiring programming.

The department is seeking to determine whether the deal “may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 2 of the Sherman Act,” according to a copy of a civil investigative demand reviewed by Bloomberg News that was sent Friday. It went to an independent movie studio, according to ...