US President Donald Trump has expressed opposition to the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s (WBD.US) streaming and film assets by Netflix (NFLX.US). On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump shared a commentary piece written last month by attorney John Pierce, titled "Stop the Netflix Cultural Takeover." Pierce argued that if Netflix successfully acquires the Warner Bros. assets, it would become the "most dominant cultural gatekeeper unseen in the US and much of the world." "The American film industry, long defined by competition and creativity, would shrink into a single, politically-driven super-entity," Pierce warned, adding, "This is not capitalism; it is cultural central planning." "The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission should treat this merger as a top-priority antitrust review—not just for its market impact, but for its implications for free speech and American cultural diversity," he further stated, concluding, "Netflix should compete, not seek to conquer." Although the board of Warner Bros. Discovery has approved Netflix's $83 billion acquisition proposal, it rejected a $108 billion hostile takeover offer from Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US). Paramount's CEO David Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, are both political allies of Trump. "Regulators must now confront the unsettling possibility that the Warner Bros. Discovery board rejected a financially superior offer because Netflix is the ideologically 'woker,' more favored buyer," Pierce noted. Trump stated last month that the Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery deal "could be problematic," pointing out that Netflix "already commands a very significant market share... adding Warner Bros. would substantially increase it." Despite Trump's stated disapproval of the deal, prediction market odds for the acquisition's completion have remained steady. On the Kalshi website, the probability stands at 54%, while on Polymarket, it is 53%.
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