I don’t like the look of this; FCC Chief says Netflix’s Warner deal raises competition concerns

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has expressed “legitimate competition concerns” about Netflix Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s studios and streaming businesses, according to reporting from Bloomberg.

In an interview, the Trump appointee praised Netflix’s organic growth as “fantastic” but voiced worries about “the sheer amount of scale and consolidation” that could result in the streaming market from this acquisition.

Interestingly, Carr indicated he doesn’t share these same concerns about a potential Paramount Skydance Corp. acquisition of those Warner assets, noting that Paramount’s streaming service is significantly smaller than Netflix’s.

While the FCC doesn’t have direct jurisdiction over the Netflix deal, Carr mentioned the commission might need to review a Paramount-Warner Bros. combination if it materializes, as Paramount (owner of CBS) plans to raise money from foreign sources.

Warner Bros. agreed to sell much of its business to Netflix last month, despite Paramount launching a campaign to convince regulators and Warner Bros. investors to reject that deal in favor of its own bid. The Warner Bros. board has maintained its support for the Netflix agreement.