Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter late last night to President Trump’s top antitrust enforcer, Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, raising concerns about a potential sale of Warner Bros. Discovery and demanding that any deal review be “conducted transparently, independently, and in accordance with federal antitrust and anti-corruption laws — not politics.”
According to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Warren, Sanders and Blumenthal want a tough review of any deal on antitrust grounds, while also noting that any deal would come “under a cloud of political favoritism and corruption.”
The letter notes public comments and media reports that have suggested that Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison, would be the preferred buyer, as well as comments made by Trump and others that suggest that bids by Comcast or Netflix could face hurdles due to the President’s personal views on those companies.
“Unbiased enforcement of antitrust and telecommunications laws is necessary to promote market growth and economic security for working families,” the Senators write. “The DOJ must ensure that review of any potential transaction involving Warner Bros. is grounded in the law, not President Trump’s political favoritism.”
But the letter makes it clear that they are no fan of a sale, given the reported pool of potential buyers, which includes Paramount (the only potential buyer that has reportedly made an offer for the entire company) as well as Comcast and Netflix. Preliminary bids for the company are due this week, and all three companies have expressed interest in either pieces of the company or the whole company.
“The review should further consider the historically consolidated state of our media ecosystem, in which just six giant companies — including Warner Bros. and Paramount — control the vast majority of media content Americans consume,” the letter says. “A merger of Paramount Skydance (owner of CBS, Paramount+, Showtime, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more) and Warner Bros. (which owns CNN, HBO Max, HGTV, Discovery+, TBS, Cartoon Network and more) ‘would be a tectonic shift for the media industry’ — resulting in one company controlling almost everything Americans watch on TV. But that concern is not unique to Paramount Skydance. Comcast (owner of NBC, Telemundo, CNBC, USA Network, SYFY, Bravo, NBC Sports and more) is also among the top six media companies in the country, and Netflix is a streaming giant with 300+ million subscribers that directly competes with Paramount Skydance’s Paramount+ and Warner Bros.’ HBO Max.”
“The need for DOJ to conduct a full, non-biased review is not just an ethics issue: if the review is botched and a new media giant emerges, it would have even more market power than the current companies to raise consumers’ television costs at a time when middle class families are already being hit from all sides by price increases,” they add.
And the potential sale also comes amid intrigue that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund could back a deal for the company. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts visited Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, and last night Ellison was a guest at a White House state dinner honoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The letter concludes by asking Slater about any meetings they have taken with lobbyists, consultants or lawyers working with WBD or any potential bidders, as well as if they have met with White House officials or President Trump about the sale.