The push from the pro-Trump heads of Paramount Pictures to take over Warner Bros. Discovery is facing scrutiny and possible investigative hurdles from Democrats at the state and federal levels.
Paramount head David Ellison
On Thursday night, Netflix said it was dropping its bid to take over Warner after Paramount reportedly increased the size of its offer for the entertainment conglomerate. The combined companies would include major media assets including CBS, CNN, TBS, both movie studios and a dizzying array of brands.
David Ellison, who leads Paramount, and his father, Larry Ellison—one of the richest men in the world—are Republican donors with close ties to President Donald Trump.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, announced on his social media account that despite Netflix’s retreat the merger was “not a done deal.”
“These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny—the California Department of Justice has an open investigation, and we intend to be vigorous in our review,” he added.
The timing of Netflix’s announcement has raised suspicions particularly because the company’s CEO Ted Sarandos went to the White House on Thursday for a meeting with Trump.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a statement the pending merger “is an antitrust disaster threatening higher prices and fewer choices for American families.” She further noted, “What did Trump officials tell the Netflix CEO today at the White House? A handful of Trump-aligned billionaires are trying to seize control of what you watch and charge you whatever price they want.”
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut sounded a similar note, writing, “Paramount should enjoy its growing news monopoly while they have it because when Democrats win back power we are going to break up these anti-democratic information conglomerates. All of them.”
Under the Ellisons, Paramount has already paid out millions to Trump to settle a lawsuit that experts said was frivolous, which has been described as a bribe in exchange for the administration’s approval of Paramount’s merger with Skydance. CBS News has experienced a rightward shift, most notably with the hiring of conservative activist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. After the network spiked stories that factually depicted the Trump administration in an unfavorable light, Trump offered up praise for the network in a January interview with CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil.
The ratings for the CBS Evening News show have fallen under the new conservative leadership.
Trump has been working behind the scenes to manage the outcome of these media mergers, steering the various players toward Ellison, who is a political ally.
In his second term it has become clear that much of the mainstream media—outlets like The New York Times, the Washington Post, and others—have chosen to turn a blind eye to many of Trump’s abuses and failures. Now even more of the mainstream press is becoming a part of the pro-Republican media machine.
