Trump says he will be involved in Netflix's deal to buy Warner Bros. and the companies' combined market share "could be a problem"

President Donald Trump has highlighted concerns about Netflix's planned $72 billion to acquire Warner Bros. On Sunday, December 7, the president was present at an event in Washington, DC, where he said that the combined market share "could be a problem." According to Trump, Netflix has a "very big market share," which might "go up by a lot" if the deal went ahead.

Further at the event, Trump said that he would have a say in the deal whenever it goes forward. Speaking to the reporters at the Kennedy Center, the US President said,

"They have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Brothers, you know, that share goes up a lot... So I don't know, that's going to be for some economists to tell. And also, I'll be involved in that decision, too."

Speaking of the massive nature of the deal and the situation, Trump additionally stated,

"They have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Bros. their market share goes up a lot. And that could be a problem."

On Friday, December 5, Netflix reportedly agreed to acquire Warner Bros Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division. The US President further said,

"Netflix is not in the studio production business the way Warner Brothers is, and even the library size of films and television programming that Netflix owns pales in comparison to Warner."

During his address to the reporters, Donald Trump also praised Netflix for being an amazing company and doing a "phenomenal" job.

Donald Trump praised Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and stated that he had visited the president at the White House

While speaking on Sunday, Donald Trump shared his reactions to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. Trump first called him "fantastic" and then said that Sarandos visited the White House recently. According to the US President,

"He came up. He was in the Oval Office last week. I have a lot of respect for him. He is a great person. Ted has really done a legendary job."

Donald Trump further stated that there was no discussion about many details surrounding the merger. According to reports by Deadline, Netflix struck a deal after beating Paramount, Skydance, and Comcast. Speaking of how Sarandos built up the streaming platform, Trump said that he didn't think something like that had happened before in Hollywood's history.

The outlet further stated that Donald Trump's remarks about the deal are the first ones since Netflix reportedly won the bid. Deadline reports further suggested that the deal is expected to close in the next 12-18 months. According to The Associated Press, the deal has received a lot of criticism as well.

Some prominent figures have criticized the deal, and the list includes names like Sen. Roger Marshall, Jane Fonda, US Rep. Laura Friedman, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Jason Kilar, to name a few. Friedman said in a statement,

"Repeated consolidation in this industry has already cost so many film and television jobs, and any merger should be evaluated on its impacts on competition and employment."

Kilar wrote that Netflix's step to acquire Warner Bros. would reduce competition in Hollywood. Warren called the deal an "anti-monopoly nightmare."