President Trump called Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos a “fantastic guy” and praised his company while anticipating its potential merger with Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” due to its overwhelming market share.
Speaking to reporters on the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors event in Washington, D.C., Trump confirmed that he met with Ted Sarandos ahead of Netflix’s talks with Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the deal “could be a problem” because of potential antitrust legal challenges.
“I will be involved in that decision,” the president said, adding that Netflix’s proposed $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. would “go through a process” to “see what happens.”
The president also had kind words for Ted Sarandos, calling the Netflix co-CEO a “fantastic guy.”
“I have a lot of respect for him, but it’s a big market share,” Trump said. “He’s a great guy… He has a lot of interesting things going on besides what you’re talking about, but it’s a big market share. There’s no question about it. It could be a problem.”
Sarandos told investors on a call with Wall Street analysts on Friday that he believes the deal with Warner Bros. Discovery will close in 12-18 months.
,[We are] Really confident that we will get all the necessary approvals that we need,” Sarandos told analysts. “This deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, it’s pro-producer, it’s pro-growth.”
according to DiversityAccording to a Bloomberg report, Sarandos told President Trump during their meeting that “even combined with Warner Bros. and HBO Max, Netflix would be as big as Google’s YouTube in the US – and would still have a smaller share of the TV market than other media groups.”
Before Netflix announced a deal with Warner Bros., Paramount described the sale process as unfair and prejudicial, claiming “the sale process has been tainted by management conflicts, including the potential personal interest of certain members of management in post-transaction roles and compensation as a result of economic incentives implicit in recent amendments to the employment arrangement.”
Warner Bros. Discovery hit back, saying its board “approaches its fiduciary duties with the utmost care, and has complied with them fully and robustly and will continue to do so.”
Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan’s cinematic take on The Odyssey has blown everyone away, but What if he directed? A Christmas carol instead? check it out hilarious trailer To see for yourself, or simply follow along on social media – Instagram: @prolandfilmsX: @prolandfilmsYouTube: @prolandfilms,
