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Tug-of-war over Warner Bros spurs US media antitrust debate, frenzy of lobbying

By Ilana Kowarski ( December 15, 2025, 14:31 GMT | Comment) -- In a conventional US antitrust review, neither Paramount’s nor Netflix’s proposed buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery would escape government scrutiny because both deals create at least one significant horizontal overlap. The Netflix merger would result in an overlap between two leading streaming platforms, while Paramount’s merger results in Big Five movie studio overlaps, plus news and animation TV channel overlaps. Thus, no matter which firm receives the blessing of WBD shareholders, that company will face tough questions from US competition law enforcers who are likely to hear an earful from layoff-wary media professionals and skittish media consumers.In a conventional US antitrust review, neither Paramount’s nor Netflix’s proposed buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery would escape government scrutiny since each creates at least one significant horizontal overlap. The Netflix merger would result in an overlap between two leading streaming platforms, while Paramount’s merger would see Big Five movie studio overlaps, plus news and animation TV channel overlaps....

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