Trump says Netflix-Warner Bros. deal could be a ‘problem’ and he will be involved in approval

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the proposed $72 billion merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery “could pose a problem” because of the market share the resulting company would have.

The value of the deal is more than $82 billion when debt is taken into account.

Netflix announced Friday that it would buy the Warner Bros. film studio. Discovery, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. If the deal is approved, Netflix would also have access to decades of movies and shows in the Warner Bros. archives. Pictures.

The deal would not include cable networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, such as CNN and TNT.

Trump on Sunday expressed some skepticism about the prospects of approval.

“Well, it has to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Awards in Washington.

“They have a very large market share,” Trump said of Netflix. “When they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot.”

Netflix, with over 300 million subscribers, is the #1 streaming service. Warner’s HBO Max is ranked slightly lower.

Trump said he would consult “some economists” before the deal gets approval. “I will also be involved in this decision,” he said. Historically, presidents have not often been involved in antitrust approvals when companies sought to merge.

Neither Netflix nor Warner Bros. does not own broadcast stations, so the deal would not require approval from the Federal Communications Commission. However, this could still require approval from the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

The deal will also likely require approval from the European Commission and other governments around the world.

During his two terms in office, Trump radically reshaped the way American businesses deal with the federal government.

Earlier on Sunday, Bloomberg News reported that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos visited Trump at the White House in mid-November to discuss the potential deal.

Sarandos’ visit echoes the strategy of many other business leaders, who have often tried to get on Trump’s good side before making major announcements, cutting deals or seeking relief from government regulations or tariffs.

Sarandos was under the impression that Netflix would not face immediate opposition from the White House, according to the Bloomberg report.

On Sunday, Trump confirmed meeting with Sarandos.

“I met Ted. I think he’s fantastic,” he told reporters.

“He was in the Oval Office last week,” Trump continued, adding that Sarandos made no promises during the meeting.

Trump also compared Netflix’s success to that of the famous film studio MGM, which now owns Amazon. Amazon purchased the studio during the Biden administration, which did not contest the takeover.

The Trump administration in July approved Paramount Global’s $1 billion merger with film studio Skydance. However, the approval only came after contentious exchanges with the government and Trump himself.

Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to Trump’s future presidential library following a CBS News interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump alleged that the interview with Harris, who ran against Trump for president, was misleadingly edited. Paramount also agreed with Trump’s FCC to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs and create an ombudsman at CBS News.

Many industry analysts expect Netflix to argue that it is competing with Google’s YouTube for market share. YouTube is often ranked as the most used streaming app among American consumers.

News of the Netflix deal also caught the attention Friday of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the banking subcommittee on consumer protection that created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who called it an “anti-monopoly nightmare.”