While Warner Bros. Discovery’s board rejected Paramount’s latest takeover bid the other day, Paramount was already busy with something else.
The David Ellison-led company filed a letter with a House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on Wednesday reports Deadline.
Paramount’s chief legal officer, Makan Delrahim, wrote to lawmakers and reportedly claimed Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery assets was “presumptively unlawful,” and that it would “further cement its dominance in streaming video on demand.”
The letter was filed on the day the subcommittee held a hearing on the streaming market, and the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery was a major topic. Paramount reps reportedly didn’t address the subcommittee in person.
A lot will depend on if the government sees Netflix as the big fish in an SVOD pond, or more directly competing with the likes of YouTube and social media (eg. Tiktok, Instagram).
Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery entered into a deal with Netflixin which the streamer will buy the studio and streaming assets, and WBD’s cable channels are spun off into a separate company.
