Donald Trump has announced that he will not interfere in the multi-billion dollar “war” between Netflix and Paramount over the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of, among others, TVN. However, according to media reports, the US president apparently changed his mind on this matter.
Continued below the video:
Ted Sarandos' visit to the White House comes just days after President Donald Trump demanded that Netflix immediately fire one of its board members, Susan Rice. It is unclear whether Sarandos will meet the US president during the visit.
The WBD management board suggested on Tuesday that it is willing to accept the offer of Netflix's rival, Paramount Skydance. The company's CEO, David Ellison – the son of Trump-supporting billionaire Larry Ellison – appeared on Tuesday at Trump's annual address to Congress as a guest of Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to the president.
Donald Trump announced a few weeks earlier that he would not interfere in the multi-billion dollar “war” between Netflix, which wants to buy the WBD studio and streaming brands, and Paramount, which wants to take over the entire WBD business.
However, Trump apparently changed his mind when, in a post on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon, he demanded that Netflix fire Rice from the board, calling her, among other things, “racist”. This was a reaction to Rice's statement, which criticized corporations that bowed to pressure from the White House.
Trump maintains that he does not favor any of the companies seeking to take over Netflix, but he demanded that any deal would lead to a change in CNN's ownership. So far, only Paramount has submitted a bid that includes CNN and other networks; Netflix only wants those owned by Warner Bros. film studios and streaming platforms. WBD – apart from CNN – includes, among others: such television channels as MTV, TNT and Polish TVN.
Source: Politico, CNBC
