It’s only been a day since Netflix announced an $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros., and the acquisition has already been described as sending Hollywood into “full-blown panic mode,” possibly delivering “a death blow to theatrical filmmaking,” and maybe even heralding “the end of Hollywood” itself.
Some of the firmest opposition has come from the Writers Guild of America, which issued a statement declaring, “This merger must be blocked.”
“The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent,” the WGA said. “The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.”
While statements from other Hollywood unions were not quite as unequivocal, they still suggested that there are “many serious questions” about the acquisition’s “impact on the future of the entertainment industry” (as the actors union SAG-AFTRA put it).
The deal came after a competitive process in which Paramount and Comcast also made bids. Paramount was trying to acquire the entire company, while Netflix will only buy the film and television studios, as well as the streaming business, after Warner Bros. moves forward with a plan to spin off its TV networks division.
Initially, Paramount was seen as the frontrunner, with its ties to the Trump administration (the studio is now run by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison) easing the way for regulatory approval. But even before the Netflix deal was announced, Paramount’s lawyers sent an angry letter complaining about “a tilted and unfair process,” and Netflix soon emerged publicly as the winner.
This deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, would presumably face significant regulatory scrutiny, and not just from Trump appointees. Senator Elizabeth Warren — a Democrat from Massachusetts and longtime critic of Big Tech — put out a statement of her own describing the deal as “an anti-monopoly nightmare.”
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“A Netflix-Warner Bros. [merger] would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market — threatening to force Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch, while putting American workers at risk,” Warren said.
She als …