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Netflix bid for Warner raises monopolization issue

By Flavia Fortes and Curtis Eichelberger ( January 20, 2026, 22:11 GMT | Comment) -- Netflix has the board of Warner Brothers Discovery's support for its $82.7 billion acquisition offer and it is confident that antitrust enforcers won't apply a traditional market definition that leads to high market shares and a presumption of illegality. However, critics of the proposed merger say that antitrust enforcers may still scrutinize the tie-up as a violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act because of the potential monopolization of the market for subscription video on demand. Netflix’s $82.7 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery has won the backing of Warner Bros. Discovery’s* board, which is confident that regulators won’t rely on traditional market definitions to block the deal — but antitrust scrutiny may still loom, as critics say enforcers could frame the transaction as a Section 2 case focused on Netflix’s potential to attempt to monopolize the subscription video on demand (SVOD) market, or narrower markets....

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