UK politicians call for competition review of Netflix bid for Warner Bros, FT reports
They are concerned that the deal ‘will cement an already-dominant player’ in the TV-streaming market, the report says
[LONDON] More than a dozen UK politicians and former policymakers have called on the country’s competition watchdog to launch a full review of Netflix’s US$83 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery, Financial Times (FT) reported on Tuesday (Jan 27).
The group of politicians, in a letter to Sarah Cardell, CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), raised concerns that the deal “will cement an already-dominant player” in the TV-streaming market, the report said.
The politicians shared in the letter that the deal could lead “to a substantial lessening of competition, with damaging consequences for consumers”.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
The CMA declined to comment. Warner Bros and Netflix did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for a comment.
Netflix’s proposed deal for Warner Bros Discovery has been facing political pushback and regulatory scrutiny, with some members of the US Congress deeming the acquisition as an antitrust “nightmare” for consumers and creatives.
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Bloomberg reported last week that the EU’s antitrust regulators are expected to scrutinise rival bids by Netflix and Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros at the same time, setting up an unusual head-to-head competition review.
The FT report said that the letter to the CMA was signed by Chris Smith, Oliver Dowden and Karen Bradley, who have all acted as the UK secretary of state for culture, media and sport, as well as Tony Hall, a former director-general of the BBC.
Other signatories include Guy Black, chair of the News Media Association and deputy chair of Telegraph Media Group, and Tina Stowell, former leader of the House of Lords, FT reported. REUTERS
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