Eleven US states urge DOJ to thoroughly probe Netflix-Warner Bros. deal

Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery logos are seen in this illustration created on December 5, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration · Reuters

Reuters

Thu, February 26, 2026 at 1:28 a.m. GMT+9 1 min read

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Feb 25 (Reuters) - Republican attorneys general from 11 U.S. states have urged ‌the U.S. Department of Justice ‌to conduct a thorough review of Netflix’s bid ​to acquire studio and streaming assets from Warner Bros., saying the deal threatens U.S. dominance in movies, according to ‌a letter seen ⁠by Reuters.

While Warner Bros. has accepted Netflix’s $82.7 billion offer, the ⁠storied studio said on Tuesday that its board is considering a rival bid ​from Paramount ​Skydance, which ​has argued Netflix’s bid ‌faces taller regulatory hurdles.

The state attorneys general urged the DOJ to scrutinize how the deal would affect customers of streaming services, as well as the ‌market for theatrical movie ​releases.

The deal “will likely result ​in undue ​market concentration that stifles competition ‌and therefore creates higher ​prices, lower ​reliability, and less innovation for one of America’s major industries—all to the ​detriment ‌of American consumers,” they wrote.

(Reporting by ​Jody Godoy, Editing by Franklin Paul ​and Chizu Nomiyama )

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