Netflix’s Proposed Warner Bros. Merger Is Ridiculous. Why Aren’t California Politicians Saying So?
News of the potential acquisition has been met with silence and word salads from Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass, Adam Schiff, and the state’s 2026 gubernatorial candidates.
A quick note: the Hard Reset Awards are open for public voting through Dec. 9. Winners will be announced after that date.
On Friday, Netflix announced a $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. The particulars of the deal are convoluted, as are the contours of the entertainment industry after yet another proposed merger. I will not pretend to have an expert understanding of the moving parts. To get caught up to speed, I’ve relied on explainers from Rick Ellis, Matt Stoller, and Slate’s Nitish Pahwa; their analyses are not necessarily in lockstep (Ellis actually criticized Stoller’s write-up), but I found them all to be helpful.
Here’s my very short explanation of what just happened: Paramount Skydance, a recently merged entertainment company run by David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, submitted a series of bids to buy Warner Bros. For a while, Warner Bros. rebuffed those efforts. Then Warner Bros. announced it was open for bids, but wanted to hear from a wider pool. Three behemoth bidders emerged: Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix. Netflix ultimately won out, meaning it stands to gain control of HBO and HBO Max, plus Warner Bros.’ movie studios, as well as a bunch of world-famous franchises and titles.
Netflix cannot claim victory in a tangible way unless a deal formally goes through, though. That could take months, and is almost surely going to run up against antitrust lawsuits as well as a challenge from the Ellisons, who are BFFs with President Donald Trump. With the president of the United States and/or the Justice Department on your side, you can absolutely muddy up a merger. Relatedly, Bloomberg is reporting that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos traveled to the White House in November to kiss the ring and explain to Trump why Netflix should be allowed to acquire Warner Bros. Trump isn’t capable of weighing the merits of a potential merger, but his motives and allegiances are nevertheless worth monitoring.
Over the last few days, I’ve come across all sorts of arguments against this acquisition, and I agree with most of them. Netflix’s business model isn’t reliant on movie theaters, and so scooping up Warner Bros.—which is releasing cool, original films like Sinners!—portends poorly for people who like going to the movies. As part of his public reaction to the deal, Sarandos said that “over time, the windows [for theatrical releases] will evolve to be much more consumer friendly, to be able to meet the audience where they are quicker.”
When you get past the corporate-speak, Sarandos is saying that “consumers” prefer to watch movies at home. In the aggregate, I—a film normie—think he’s right. But that doesn’t make what Sarandos is saying any less concerning. He, and Netflix, are actively contributing to movie theaters’ demise. Netflix is not an innocent bystander witnessing a decrease in theater foot traffic—Netflix is putting up road blocks and detours on the way to the movie theater, and then saying with a straight face, “Huh, I guess people don’t like movie theaters anymore.”
There are societal implications to the slow death of movie theaters that matter quite a lot, in my opinion. I saw a post on X about how theaters are one of the only social gatherings left where strangers put their phones away and enjoy things together. I think that observation is correct, and it bummed me out. Also, binge-watching is bad for our brains—studies have concluded as much—so the proliferation of slop on Netflix and other streaming services is not going to be offset by Netflix’s lip service about how much it values owning the rights to Casablanca.
These are all valid reasons to hope the merger fails, but you don’t really need to invoke any of them to make a convincing argument. The main, unimpeachable reason Netflix should not be allowed to acquire Warner Bros. is because consolidation on this scale will cause job loss, it will further contract an already-fragile industry, and it will likely cause price increases for consumers.
Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav is not denying that there will be cuts if the merger goes through. His optimistic framing is the cuts won’t be as bad as you might expect. From Bloomberg: “Zaslav assured his staff that this was a great deal and that Netflix would keep most of them employed. (Netflix has targeted at least $2 billion in cost savings, but less than Paramount or Comcast had proposed.)”
I will note that Zaslav is universally hated, and his assurances are worth very little. If he’s already admitting there will be “cost savings”—a phrase that is synonymous with his tenure—then you should assume those “savings” will be worse than whatever he’s letting on.
Cuts and consolidation are especially bad for workers in Los Angeles, and in California, which is already hemorrhaging entertainment job opportunities because of AI and non-union shoots in other states/countries. This merger is a significant labor issue for all of Hollywood, from the writers’ and actors’ guilds to everyone else who works on movies and TV shows. I understand the details of the merger are being assessed, and that Netflix itself employs lots of people in California, but the company’s actions are still ripe for righteous critiques.
There’s an opening here for California politicians who are ostensibly to the left of the Republican Party, and who claim to support labor. It’s a no-brainer to come out against this proposed acquisition, and to condemn all of the companies that are attempting to shrink the entertainment field.
Most of the state’s prominent Democrats are instead opting for complete silence. At a New York Times event last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Democratic Party “needs to design and develop a compelling economic vision for the future where people feel included, to reconcile the fact that if we don’t democratize our economy, we’re not going to save democracy.” He’s right, as are his barbs that the Trump administration is engaged in crony capitalism. But as of Sunday evening, he and his office—which rapid-fire posts on social media about everything—haven’t said a word about the Netflix merger. A Newsom spokesperson emailed that they’d let me know “if we have anything to share.” I will of course update this piece if Newsom deigns to comment, but I’m not holding my breath.
As of Sunday evening, I also haven’t spotted a single merger-related comment from California’s major Democratic Party gubernatorial candidates for 2026 (Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra, Tom Steyer, and Eric Swalwell).
The Times nabbed a comment from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, but uh… good luck deciphering it: “Los Angeles’s range of production studios contribute to its status as the shining creative capital of the world,” Bass said. “As Los Angeles continues fostering an environment that drives our signature industry, we will continue to boost local production and create more jobs and small-business opportunities right here at home.”
I followed up with Bass’s press team asking her to clarify what she actually thinks of the merger. They requested my deadline and the outlet I’m writing for (both fair questions!), but then didn’t get back to me. I will update this story if I hear from them, but again, don’t hold your breath.
Sen. Adam Schiff released a statement, but it’s similar to Bass’s—a bunch of empty words that look even weaker in comparison to the likes of far-right Utah Sen. Mike Lee. Pro-tip for Democrats: don’t take a weaker stance on mergers and labor issues than a 54-year-old conspiracy theorist who refers to himself as “based.” California’s other senator, Alex Padilla, hasn’t commented at all.
The only big-name California politician who’s weighed in publicly is Rep. Ro Khanna. Candidly, I find Khanna’s nonstop media tour and constant social media musings—all in service of a blatantly obvious 2028 presidential run—a little bit sweaty. But credit where credit is due, he’s filling a void and making a smart political calculus.
“These kinds of mergers are anti-worker,” he told NPR. “They’re anti-writer. They’re anti-consumer. They’re for corporate billionaires. And it’s really a question of whose side the Trump administration is going to be on, the side of workers or the side of big corporations.”
Other California Democrats would be wise to follow Khanna’s lead, both as a political strategy, and to start chopping down on the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger before it’s too late. Unfortunately, the aforementioned California Democrats are asleep on the couch, with Netflix’s patented “are you still watching?” prompt glowing on their TV screens.