Paramount Accuses Netflix of Campaign Against Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

In a letter addressed to DOJ Antitrust Division attorneys, Paramount Skydance chief legal officer Makan Delrahim alleged that Netflix — which had itself sought to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery before withdrawing in February — is now orchestrating a 'scorched-earth campaign' to poison regulators against the $111 billion Paramount-WBD merger. Delrahim's letter was written in direct response to a March white paper from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which urged the DOJ to block the deal unless substantial worker protections were put in place, citing fears of job losses similar to those that followed Disney's 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Delrahim dismissed those concerns, arguing the merged company would increase content production and create more opportunities for union labor, while blaming Netflix for persuading the Teamsters and other stakeholders to use the Disney-Fox deal as a cautionary tale. However, Ars Technica noted that a January SEC filing from Paramount itself projected content spending would decline by less than 10 percent post-merger, and that the combined company expects to cut over $6 billion in costs — primarily from duplicative back-office and corporate functions — while carrying $79 billion in debt. The deal faces scrutiny on multiple fronts: the UK's Competition and Markets Authority launched a formal investigation on Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a 10-state coalition of attorneys general are preparing potential antitrust litigation, and more than 1,000 entertainment professionals have publicly opposed the transaction. WBD shareholders have already approved the merger, which is expected to close in September pending regulatory clearance, and would unite Paramount's CBS and film studios with Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, and Discovery networks.