Lobbyists for
The potential deals are sparking intense interest and scrutiny from K Street, Capitol Hill and the executive branch. It’s likely to be one of the most closely watched mergers in recent years, with enormous implications for the future of the entertainment industry.
Despite the pushback, lobbyists for Netflix and Warner Bros. could help move the deal forward, said Abiel Garcia, antitrust partner of Kesselman, Brantly & Stockinger LLP. The deal, announced Dec. 5, would combine Netflix’s streaming service with Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios, HBO Max and HBO.
“There will be a lot of conversations between lobbyists and the White House,” Garcia said. “If it was me and I’m counsel for Paramount or I’m counsel for Netflix, I’m very much saying, ‘We should have some lobbyists and we should have someone talking to the White House to try and make sure this deal gets through.”
The companies involved have sophisticated lobbying operations that likely will tap additional help, including firms with ties to the executive branch.
Ballard Partners, the fast-growing firm with Trump administration ties, already represents now-competing Paramount and Netflix.
When potential conflicts arise, the firm works to “address the situation directly with the affected clients to find a mutually agreeable resolution,” founder Brian Ballard said in a statement without specifying a strategy.
Netflix’s other K Street firms include Mehlman Consulting and Monument Advocacy. Both firms declined comment. Netflix in-house lobbyists did not respond to requests for comment.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is among the firms on Paramount’s outside team, lobbying disclosures show. Paramount’s top in-house lobbyist DeDe Lea said last week she was exiting in January.
The merger efforts “highlight” the need for lobbyists to directly engage with antitrust officials at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission on deal reviews, said Chase Kroll, founding partner of TSG Advocates.
Kroll isn’t working on the Netflix-Paramount-Warner Bros. matter but said lobbyists on any big deals should build “support among influential House and Senate members on committees of jurisdiction to address potential legislative hurdles and undue congressional scrutiny.”
Congressional View
The scope of the potential deals is generating interest across Washington.
“It’s massive, and it impacts politics because who owns the culture and Hollywood and news outlets determine the direction of the country in a lot of ways,” said lobbyist Sam Geduldig, managing partner of the CGCN Group, a lobbying and communications firm. “A lot of politicians on both sides of the aisle will have very strong feelings about this.”
That’s already happening.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said the Justice Department would have to take a “hard look” at a potential Paramount-Warner tie-up, saying the combination would seem to pose “pretty heavy” potential antitrust issues.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who chairs the Senate Judiciary panel’s antitrust subcommittee, said on X that the Netflix bid raised antitrust issues.
The proposed $83 billion Netflix deal saw immediate pushback from President Donald Trump as well as lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called it a “nightmare.” The Massachusetts Democrat wasn’t any happier about Paramount’s competing hostile takeover bid.
“It violates antitrust laws the same way that the Netflix proposal does,” Warren said.
Legal Challenge
A consumer on Monday sued to block the acquisition, claiming it will harm competition in the US subscription video-on-demand market.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be pushback from state attorneys general like California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), who is likely to sue to block the deal under Section 7 of the Clayton Act, Garcia said. The Clayton Act prohibits mergers that lessen competition.
One of Netflix’s biggest competitors is Warner Bros.’ HBO Max, Garcia said.
“The question, when you look at it from the legal lens is, ‘what does the consumer look at as an interchangeable product or substitute?’” Garcia said. “If I don’t have Netflix, what are my other options that are kind of like Netflix? HBO Max is one, Disney is one, to a lesser extent I think Peacock.”
At the end of the day, “the court will ask the question: what is the reasonable substitute for Netflix?” Garcia said.
A combined Netflix Warner Bros. would give Netflix more than 30% of all streaming for paid content, he said. “And that is enough under Section 7 to trigger those rules as to this is an anticompetitive merger,” Garcia said.
Public interest watch dogs have ramped up their opposition.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, lashed out at the idea that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was reportedly part of the group involved in Paramount’s hostile-takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“America is devolving into a caricature of crony capitalism,” Weissman said in a statement. “Factions aiming to shrink media competition are fighting over who can show the greatest fealty to Donald Trump.”
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