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Paramount Skydance has accused Netflix of leading a “scorched-earth campaign to try and poison regulators and other stakeholders” over its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. In a letter to the Justice Department sent Friday, Paramount Skydance’s chief legal officer, Makan Delrahim, blasted Netflix’s “panic-level response,” saying it shows how seriously the streamer regards Paramount as a scaled competitor.
A Netflix spokesperson said “these claims from Paramount Skydance are absurd. We walked away from this deal months ago and remain focused on our own business, not theirs. Ultimately, it’s up to the regulators to approve this deal and determine if it is in the best interest of the industry and all concerned.”
In the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance triumphed over Netflix in late February. WBD shareholders approved the tie-up in late April.
Trump administration regulators are still reviewing the merger, which would unite two historic Hollywood studios and popular streaming platforms under the same corporate roof, reshaping the American entertainment industry.
Delrahim’s letter came in direct response to a March report sent to the Justice Department by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union whose members, including drivers, work on film and television sets. The Teamsters argued that Paramount’s acquisition of WBD “poses a direct threat” to workers. The union called on the Justice Department to block the deal unless “substantial and enforceable safeguards are put in place to increase domestic production and protect jobs.”
Delrahim’s letter flatly rejects that argument, with the legal executive writing that “organized labor will directly benefit from the new competitive energy and increased content investment that the combined firm will bring to the entertainment industry.”
Paramount’s letter accuses Netflix of launching a “broader proxy war” that includes trying to “persuade the Teamsters and other stakeholders that Disney’s acquisition of Fox had a negative impact on content production and labor opportunities.”
