Bidders for Warner Bros Discovery face barrage of political and regulatory risks

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By Dawn Chmielewski and Chris Sanders

(Reuters) -Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix are bidding to buy Warner Bros Discovery, Reuters reported on Thursday, but each company’s bid faces its own political and regulatory risks.

Factors to watch include market share imbalances each bidder could bring, investors and public comments by U.S. President Donald Trump or his administration about each company.

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment.

Political Risk

Paramount Skydance:

Paramount may have the inside track because of its White House connections and the significant cash the world’s second-richest person, Larry Ellison, can provide Warner Bros Discovery to close the deal. His son, Paramount CEO David Ellison, enjoys Trump’s favor, which could help smooth regulatory hurdles.

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Richard Blumenthal worry approval of the deal could be tainted by political favoritism, citing Paramount Global’s $16 million donation to Trump’s Presidential Library. The payment, made prior to a merger with Skydance that placed Ellison at the media company’s helm, settled a lawsuit Trump brought over edits to a “60 Minutes” interview.

Still, if the bid includes foreign investors, the size of their potential stake could trigger a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The merging of Paramount’s and Warner Bros’ cable television networks could raise concerns about market concentration for the DOJ.

Outside the U.S., regulators would also weigh in under foreign direct investment regimes, while European authorities would examine media plurality rules given the combination of CNN and CBS.

Comcast:

The Philadelphia‑based cable giant faces a different political climate. Trump has repeatedly denigrated the company over its unit NBC’s coverage of his second term in office, calling it “Concast,” and criticized its Chairman Brian Roberts.

That hostility could complicate the DOJ’s posture, though any opposition would need to be grounded in law and competition concerns rather than White House preference.

The DOJ sought to block AT&T’s $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner, whose CNN attracted Trump’s ire during his first term in the White House. A federal judge ultimately cleared a path for the deal in 2018.

Netflix: 

The streaming leader has its own potential political struggles. In October 2025, the Pentagon criticized “Boots,” a series about a gay Marine, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children,” a Defense Department representative said.

Even before the bids were in, Republican Senator Roger Marshall and Representative Darrell Issa warned that allowing Netflix to take over the company would hand it the content rights of HBO Max and Warner Bros, which they said could raise prices and decrease choice for consumers.

Market dominance, however, is in the eye of the beholder. YouTube accounts for more television viewing in the U.S. than its closest rival, Netflix, according to Nielsen.

Competition and Antitrust Risk

Given past practice, the Justice Department would likely have antitrust oversight of any deal. Warner Bros Discovery does not hold broadcast TV assets and as a result, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr would likely not have jurisdiction.

Paramount Skydance:

A merger with Warner Bros Discovery would unite two major Hollywood studios, two streaming platforms (HBO Max and Paramount+) and two news operations (CNN and CBS). Exhibitors are likely to worry about the number of films reaching theaters, with Comscore estimating the combined entity would control 32% of the U.S. and Canadian box office, based on 2025 revenue.

The creative community may also face reduced employment options if there are fewer movies or if, for example, CBS News and CNN were combined. Sports rights concentration — CBS and TNT under one roof — could potentially raise prices for consumers.

Comcast:

Combining Universal Pictures with Warner Bros Studios would create an even larger theatrical powerhouse, accounting for more than 43% of the North American box office, according to Comscore. That level of market share could alarm regulators and exhibitors, raising questions about diminished opportunities for filmmakers and talent.

The DOJ would need to assess whether such consolidation harms competition in theatrical distribution. During Trump’s first term, the DOJ approved a similarly sized deal – Walt Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which brought together two film studios that at the time represented a combined 38% of the domestic box office, according to Comscore.

Netflix:

The streaming leader’s bid would not affect theatrical releases but would reshape the subscription video market. (Netflix will continue to distribute movies into theaters, a source familiar with the matter said, confirming a Bloomberg report). Adding HBO Max’s 128 million subscribers to Netflix’s more than 300 million would create a formidable player.

Regulators may ask whether such scale limits consumer choice, though the market definition is contested: YouTube, TikTok and other platforms command significant viewing time. The DOJ would need to decide whether Netflix’s dominance constitutes a threat to competition or simply reflects evolving consumer habits.

(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Chris Sanders in Washington; Editing by Richard Chang)