Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Bruce Campbell of Warner Bros. Discovery went before the House and Senate Judiciary committees this week to answer questions about a proposed merger between the two firms.
The $70 billion deal would create one of the largest media companies in the world. Lawmakers raised concerns about the threat posed by the concentration of so many media entities in the hands of one firm and the possible impact on the cost of streaming services.
But a very real problem with the merger was raised by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). At the end of his questioning, he asked the executives if they had watched the Grammys the previous weekend.
Sarandos said he caught the end of it. Campbell said he missed it.
Cruz leaned in. “Are we right now on stolen land?” he asked, referring to the remarks by singer Billie Eilish at the close of the Grammys. The executives giggled nervously. “I have no idea of the history of this land where we’re sitting today, senator,” said Sarandos. “Nor do I,” said Campbell.
“So that speaks volumes that neither of you are willing to say, ‘Hell no, we’re not on stolen land,’” Cruz thundered. “And I will say at the Grammys, when you see an entertainer say, ‘Nobody is illegal while we’re on stolen land.’ And then you see entertainers leap to their feet, clapping so excitedly at the notion that America’s fundamentally illegitimate. It starts to convey that the entertainment world is deeply corrupt.”
Cruz added: “And I will point out that that same singer who says nobody is illegal on stolen land promptly went back to her $14 million mansion and somehow that stolen land she wasn’t concerned about. Just the United States of America.”
Cruz didn’t offer the only reason that lawmakers are not enthusiastic about the proposed merger of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that the merger would “consolidate one of the largest content producers with one of the largest distributors,” and this raises “major concerns” for “both our artists and art.”
Sarandos said President Donald Trump, who has the power to block the merger, has made clear that he is concerned about the loss of jobs should the merger go through. Administration officials told CNBC they view the deal with “heavy skepticism” over the economic concerns, and Trump himself has said the merger could be “a problem.”
Netflix, already the strongest streaming company, would control 40% of the streaming market should the merger go through. It would give Netflix control of both HBO and HBOMax, which is one of Netflix’s top streaming competitors now.
Massive consolidation of media giants has not improved the product. The result has been conformity and consensus around some ideas, such as global warming, that haven’t stood the test of time, as well as the elimination of any counternarratives that don’t fit the ideological preferences of the Left.
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Which brings us to what Cruz is concerned about. Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery are in lockstep ideologically. Regardless of whether you agree with that ideology, it is hard to argue that society benefits when one voice gets heard and the other gets censored. This thinking allows powerful private corporations to corner the market on ideas and present their ideology to Americans as conclusive when they are merely an opinion. As we saw with COVID-19, shutting down the truth can be disastrous.
Let’s not compound the problem. Let’s shut this deal down before it’s too late.
Alex Mooney was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2025.
