Trump says Netflix-Warner Bros. deal could be a 'problem' and he will be involved in approval

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the proposed $72 billion merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery "could be a problem" because of the amount of market share the resulting company would have.

The value of the deal balloons to more than $82 billion when debt is accounted for.

Netflix said Friday it would purchase Warner Bros. Discovery's film studio, HBO and the streaming service HBO Max. If the deal is approved, Netflix would also get access to decades of films and shows in the Warner Bros. Pictures archive.

The deal would not include cable networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, such as CNN and TNT.

Trump expressed some skepticism Sunday about the prospects of approval.

"Well, that’s got to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens," he told reporters as he walked the Kennedy Center Awards’ red carpet in Washington.

"They have a very big market share," Trump said of Netflix. "When they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot."

Netflix, which has more than 300 million subscribers, is the No. 1 streaming service. Warner’s HBO Max is ranked slightly lower.

Trump said he would consult "some economists" before the deal get his stamp of approval. "I’ll be involved in that decision, too," he said. Historically, presidents have not often gotten involved in antitrust approvals when companies seek to merge.

Neither Netflix nor Warner Bros. own any broadcast stations, so the deal would not require approval by Federal Communications Commission. However, it may still require approval by the Justice Department's antitrust division.

The deal is also likely to require approval from the European Commission and other governments around the world.

During his two terms in office, Trump has dramatically reshaped the ways corporate America deals with the federal government.

Earlier Sunday, Bloomberg News reported that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos visited Trump at the White House in mid-November to discuss the potential deal.

Sarandos' visit echoed the strategy of other many other corporate executives, who have often tried to get on Trump's good side before making major announcements, doing deals or seeking relief from government regulations or tariffs.

Sarandos was left with the impression that Netflix would not face immediate opposition from the White House, the Bloomberg report said.

On Sunday, Trump confirmed he had met with Sarandos.

"I met with Ted. I think he's fantastic," he told reporters.

“He was in the Oval Office last week,” Trump continued, adding that Sarandos made no promises at the meeting.

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Trump also compared Netflix's success to that of the famed MGM film studio, which Amazon now owns. Amazon purchased the studio during the Biden administration, which did not challenge the takeover.

The Trump administration in July approved the billion-dollar merger of Paramount Global with film studio Skydance. However, the approval only came after a contentious back-and-forth with the government and Trump himself.

Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to Trump’s future presidential library over an interview CBS News conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump alleged the interview featuring Harris, who ran against Trump for the presidency, was edited deceptively. Paramount also agreed with Trump’s FCC to end its diversity, equity and inclusion programs and create an ombudsman at CBS News.

Many industry analysts expect Netflix to argue that it competes against Google's YouTube for market share. YouTube is often ranked as the most-used streaming app by U.S. consumers.

Netflix's deal announcement also drew scrutiny Friday from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a member of the Banking subcommittee on consumer protection who established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who called it an "anti-monopoly nightmare."