Paramount Skydance has accused Netflix of spearheading a “scorched-earth campaign to try and poison regulators and other stakeholders” against its $110 billion purchase of rival Hollywood studio Warner Bros.Discovery.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In a fiery letter to the Justice Department obtained by NBC News, Paramount Skydance chief legal officer Makan Delrahim excoriated Netflix for what he called a “panic-level response” to the merger that illustrates “just how seriously Netflix takes Paramount as a scaled competitor.”Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Paramount’s letter was sent to the Justice Department on Friday and first reported by Politico.Paramount Skydance and Netflix each vied to acquire Warner Bros.Discovery, the parent company of HBO and CNN.
Paramount Skydance, owned by the technology scion David Ellison, won the bidding war in late February.WBD shareholders approved the tie-up in late April.Trump administration regulators are still reviewing the merger, which would unite two historic Hollywood studios and popular streaming platforms under the same corporate roof, reshaping the American entertainment industry.The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.The water tower at Warner Bros.
Studio in Burbank, Calif.Mario Tama / Getty Images fileDelrahim’s letter came in direct response to a March report sent to the Justice Department by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union whose members, including drivers, work on film and television sets.The Teamsters argued that Paramount’s acquisition of WBD “poses a direct threat” to workers.
The union called on the Justice Department to block the deal unless “substantial and enforceable safeguards are put in place to increase domestic production and protect jobs.”Delrahim’s letter flatly rejects that argument, with the l...