President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he will personally oversee the regulatory review of Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a blockbuster deal that could reshape the American entertainment landscape and has already drawn fierce opposition from lawmakers and industry watchdogs.
Speaking to reporters outside the Kennedy Center before hosting the prestigious annual awards ceremony on December 7, Trump made clear his administration would take an active role in scrutinizing what industry analysts are calling one of the most significant entertainment mergers in U.S. history.
“I will be involved in that decision,” Trump stated definitively, signaling that the proposed mega-merger will face intense presidential-level scrutiny rather than being left entirely to federal regulatory agencies.
The streaming giant’s potential acquisition of the media conglomerate has sent shockwaves through Hollywood and Washington alike, with critics raising alarm bells about unprecedented market concentration in the entertainment sector. Warner Bros. Discovery, formed through its own massive merger in 2022, controls a vast empire including HBO, CNN, Discovery Channel, and major film studios.
Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle have expressed serious concerns about the deal’s potential impact on competition and consumer choice. Industry groups have warned that combining Netflix’s dominant streaming platform with Warner Bros. Discovery’s extensive content library and production capabilities could create an entertainment behemoth with dangerous market power.
The proposed merger comes at a critical juncture for the streaming industry, as platforms battle for subscribers in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Netflix, despite facing growing competition from Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and other services, remains the world’s largest streaming platform with over 260 million global subscribers.
Warner Bros. Discovery, meanwhile, has been struggling with massive debt loads following its formation and has been seeking strategic alternatives to strengthen its position against streaming rivals. The company’s HBO Max platform has been repositioned as simply “Max” as part of broader cost-cutting efforts.
Trump’s direct involvement in the merger review process marks a departure from typical presidential engagement in corporate deals, though presidents have historically weighed in on mergers deemed critical to national interests or economic competition. The announcement suggests the administration views the entertainment sector as strategically important enough to warrant top-level attention.
The merger, if approved, would create an entertainment powerhouse controlling everything from blockbuster movie franchises to premium television content, news programming, and global streaming distribution. Regulatory approval would require clearance from both the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.
Industry experts are closely watching how the Trump administration approaches big tech and media consolidation, particularly given ongoing concerns about market concentration across multiple sectors of the American economy. The Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery deal represents a key test case for the administration’s regulatory philosophy.
