Netflix–Warner Bros is an 'anti-monopoly nightmare': Sen. Warren
Fri, December 5, 2025 at 4:08 PM EST
In this video:
Netflix (NFLX) announced a $72 billion deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The agreement is likely to face regulatory hurdles given each company's respective dominance in the streaming space.
Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Allie Canal outlines the latest, including Senator Elizabeth Warren's remarks on antitrust concerns.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination.
Video Transcript
00:00
Josh
Well, a massive shakeup is underway in Hollywood. Netflix agreeing to buy Warner Brothers Legendary Studios and HBO Max in a landmark $72 billion dollar deal.
00:10
Josh
And joining me now is Yahoo Finance senior reporter, Allie Canal. Allie.
00:13
Allie Canal
Yeah, Josh. So I've been digging into the regulatory aspect of this because that seems to be the big looming question moving forward, especially for investors.
00:23
Allie Canal
Whether or not regulators will even let this deal happen. So the combined Netflix Warner Brothers company, that would control roughly a third of all US streaming engagement.
00:34
Allie Canal
That's according to uh a report from Just Watch, and that's already drawing some political fire.
00:41
Allie Canal
So we have a statement here from Senator Elizabeth Warren and she said, quote, 'This deal looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare and Netflix Warner Brothers 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.
01:05
Allie Canal
We also heard from Hollywood unions like WGA. They are also very much against this merger.
01:13
Allie Canal
But legally, it's a bit more complicated. So a former DOJ anti-trust official told Deutsche Bank that under current case law, Netflix or even those competitors in the bids, Comcast and Paramount, they likely would have all prevailed if regulators tried to block their bids, meaning the DOJ may face an uphill battle if it wants to stop this at all.
01:34
Allie Canal
And we heard from Jason Bazinet from City, he was on the show earlier this morning and he said the real flash point is the streaming share. So, you basically have this largest streamer being Netflix, essentially getting bigger.
01:50
Allie Canal
The studio side, he says, it's not going to be a factor here when it comes to that regulatory overhang. So the regulators are going to zero in on the streaming component.
02:00
Allie Canal
And Wall Street is really viewing this as cautiously optimistic in in the near term. Uh they said the review could be long, politically charged and obviously one of the biggest overhangs for shareholders.
02:12
Allie Canal
When it when it comes to the actual deal, the size, the sheer money that's involved here. Um, Laura Martin was out with a note from Needham and she said, if you're looking over the past one to three years, you could say, 'Sure, Netflix overpaid.'
02:22
Allie Canal
But this is a two decade long story. So Wall Street is really looking out further into the future, and when you do that, they're a little more optimistic.
View Comments