There’s concern that subscribers might be negatively affected if Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD’s) streaming and film studios companies. One of many greatest fears is that the merger would result in greater costs on account of much less competitors for Netflix. Throughout a Senate listening to at the moment, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recommended that the merger would have an reverse impact.
Sarandos was talking at a listening to held by the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competitors Coverage, and Shopper Rights, “Examining the Competitive Impact of the Proposed Netflix-Warner Brothers Transaction.”
Sarandos aimed to persuade the subcommittee that Netflix wouldn’t develop into a monopoly in streaming or in film and TV manufacturing if regulators allowed its acquisition to shut. Netflix is the biggest subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) supplier by subscribers (301.63 million as of January 2025), and WBD is the third (128 million streaming subscribers, together with customers of HBO Max and, to a smaller diploma, Discovery+).
Talking at at the moment’s listening to, Sarandos stated:
Netflix and Warner Bros. each have streaming companies, however they’re very complementary. In truth, 80 p.c of HBO Max subscribers additionally subscribe to Netflix. We’ll give customers extra content material for much less.
Through the listening to, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) requested Sarandos how Netflix can be certain that streaming stays “reasonably priced” after a merger, particularly after Netflix issued a price hike in January 2025 regardless of including extra subscribers.
Sarandos stated the streaming trade continues to be aggressive. The manager claimed that earlier Netflix worth hikes have include “much more worth” for subscribers.
“We’re a one-click cancel, so if the buyer says, ‘That’s an excessive amount of for what I’m getting,’ they will cancel with one click on,” Sarandos stated.
When pressed additional on pricing, the manager argued that the merger doesn’t pose “any focus threat” and that Netflix is working with the US Division of Justice on potential guardrails in opposition to extra worth hikes.
