Mumbai: US President Donald Trump has said he will not involve himself in the high-stakes battle between streaming major Netflix and Paramount Skydance over the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), marking a clear reversal from his earlier stance on the proposed transaction.
Speaking in an interview with NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, Trump said he had decided to stay out of the process despite being approached by both sides.
“I haven’t been involved,” Trump said. “I’ve been called by both sides, but I’ve decided I shouldn’t be involved. The Justice Department will handle it.”
The comments represent a pivot from early December, when Trump had publicly questioned Netflix’s proposed acquisition of WBD, warning that the deal “could be a problem” because of the scale and market power Netflix could gain if regulators approved it. At the time, he had indicated he might play a role in reviewing or influencing the outcome of the transaction, which is subject to scrutiny by both US and European regulators.
Netflix has proposed acquiring WBD in a deal valued at about $72 billion. The transaction would exclude WBD’s cable networks, including CNN, but would give Netflix control of Warner Bros.’ film and television studio as well as premium brands such as HBO and streaming service HBO Max.
Paramount Skydance has countered with a hostile bid for all of WBD, valuing the company at an enterprise value of more than $108 billion, escalating what Trump described as an intense corporate fight.
“They’re beating the hell out of each other — and there’ll be a winner,” he told NBC News.
The situation has also drawn political and industry attention because of the relationships involved. Billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose son David Ellison is Paramount’s CEO, is known to be close to Trump. Separately, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos visited Trump in the Oval Office shortly before Netflix’s offer was recommended by WBD leadership.
Sarandos sought to distance that meeting from the deal during testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee. According to The New York Times, Sarandos said the Oval Office meeting “was not specifically to talk about the deal,” adding that he was confident the review would be handled on its merits by the U.S. Department of Justice.
At the same hearing, Sarandos outlined Netflix’s case for the acquisition, telling lawmakers that the company plans to continue investing in Warner Bros.’ studios and content while expanding production and creating jobs. He reiterated that Netflix believes the combination would strengthen competition rather than stifle it.
However, lawmakers raised concerns about the potential concentration of power. Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, warned that the deal could give Netflix excessive dominance across both content creation and distribution.
“All told, one might say that Netflix seeks to become the one platform to rule them all,” Lee said, according to the Times, adding that the merger “raises numerous antitrust concerns.”
With Trump now publicly stepping aside, the fate of the proposed Netflix–WBD deal — and Paramount Skydance’s rival bid — rests squarely with regulators, setting the stage for one of the most closely watched antitrust battles in the global media and entertainment industry.
