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A Senate committee will examine the proposed Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. at a hearing scheduled for next week, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos scheduled to testify.
The hearing before the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee will be held on Feb. 3, a spokesperson for Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), confirmed. Lee is the chairman of the subcommittee, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is the ranking member.
The Netflix acquisition has drawn an unusual amount of commentary from lawmakers in the weeks since it was announced, while some have also weighed in on Paramount‘s hostile bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery.
In its deal with WBD, Netflix would acquire studio and streaming assets, as well as HBO and HBO Max. WBD’s cable channels would be spun off into a separate company.
Lee previously wrote of the Netflix-Warner Bros. transaction, “A lot of antitrust red flags here. A hearing is almost certain.” According to the publication The Capitol Forum, Lee raised issues about the proposed Netflix-WB merger in a letter to the company last week, calling a “potential abuse of the merger review process, particularly the exchange or misuse of competitively sensitive information.” He cited concerns that the process could be misused “if an acquiring firm seeks to tie up a rival for an extended period.”
A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment.
Looming over this is the potential for another government shutdown after Jan. 31. The latest shooting in Minneapolis has led to Democratic vows not to approve the latest government funding bills if they include money for the Department of Homeland Security.
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