For the last several months, Netflix and Paramount have been vying for the right to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which could add up to the largest merger in Hollywood history. While Netflix originally reached a deal to acquire WBD last year, after Paramount raised its bid, Netflix dropped out, leaving Paramount as the likely winner.
It was often reported throughout the process that the Trump Administration favored Paramount in the deal, in part because the company’s leader, David Ellison, is thought to be Trump-sympathetic, and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, even more so. But throughout, Netflix continued to try to lobby the government for its bid, with co-CEO Ted Sarandos at one point meeting with President Trump.
Now, with Paramount’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. awaiting government approval, more details are coming out about what happened during Netflix’s pursuit.
A top Netflix boss has called out President Trump’s “unusual” behavior in the lead-up to the streaming giant’s failed takeover of Warner Bros.https://t.co/ItyjJjccP5
— Daily Beast’s Obsessed (@beastobsessed) March 3, 2026
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Trump, a few days before Netflix dropped its bid, had demanded in a Truth Social post that Netflix remove board member Susan Rice, a former top adviser in the Obama and Biden Administrations.
🔴 Netflix boss: I carry anxiety about the outcome and where we landed
Read the full exclusive interview below 🖇️https://t.co/iUjX1SF0KG pic.twitter.com/2wBbqBrJlp
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 2, 2026
Greg Peters, Netflix’s other co-CEO, talked about what happened in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. Peters noted that while Netflix has partnerships with the Obamas and Harry and Meghan, the service also works with Dave Chappelle, whose specials in recent years have bothered progressives.
“It’s unusual,” Peter’s said of Trump’s posts about Rice, “the social media rhetoric zone.”
