Paramount accuses Netflix of "scorched-earth campaign" against WBD merger

Paramount Skydance is accusing Netflix of maintaining a campaign against its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

In a June 5 letter (PDF) addressed to Jared A. Hughes, acting section chief of the Media, Entertainment, and Communications Section of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Antitrust Division, and A. Maya Kahn, a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division, and first reported on by Politico today, Paramount chief legal officer Makan Delrahim accused Netflix of trying to influence stakeholders about the merger. The letter reads:

Indeed, Netflix’s panic-level response and scorched-earth campaign to try and poison regulators and other stakeholders against the Transaction shows just how seriously Netflix takes Paramount as a scaled competitor.

The letter from Delrahim, a former assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, is a response to a letter that The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent to the DOJ in March. The teamsters’ letter argued that Paramount and WBD’s merger would threaten film and TV workers. The union, which has 1.3 million members, asked the DOJ to block the merger “unless substantial and enforceable safeguards are put in place to increase domestic production and protect jobs,” per an announcement from the group.

Paramount’s top lawyer, however, this month argued that the merger would “not reduce work opportunities for the Teamsters or other organized labor” and would lead Paramount to create more content, including movies and programming for its streaming services and broadcast TV channels. This will push competitors to follow suit, Delrahim claimed.

Delrahim said the merger would bring more opportunities for writers and directors, as well as actors, drivers, location scouts, casting directors, caterers, mechanics, and animal handlers.

Paramount’s letter pointed to an increase in content production after Paramount merged with Skydance in 2025. Since then, Paramount has either purchased or renewed 20 shows and “will nearly double its theatrical output this year as compared to 2025,” Delrahim wrote.