Paramount has accused Netflix of conducting a “scorched-earth campaign” to derail its proposed merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), in a letter to the US Department of Justice. The letter, dated June 5, was obtained by Deadline and responds to a white paper submitted by the Teamsters union in March raising concerns about the deal.
In the letter, Paramount’s chief legal officer, Makan Delrahim, said that Netflix’s “panic level response” showed how seriously it viewed Paramount as a scaled competitor. A Netflix spokesperson dismissed the claims, saying: “These claims from Paramount Skydance are absurd. We walked away from this deal months ago and remain focused on our own business, not theirs.”
WBD had initially agreed to sell its studio and streaming operations to Netflix, but the Warner board ultimately chose a higher offer from David Ellison’s company. Netflix walked away with a $2.8bn breakup fee. The merger is now awaiting regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions; the UK has opened a Phase I inquiry with an August 7 deadline, while the EU’s initial deadline is July 7.
Delrahim insisted the merger would create a more competitive landscape and increase overall content production, offering “more opportunities for organised labour beyond Paramount’s projects”. He argued that cost savings would largely come from areas not touching production labour, such as technology infrastructure and back-office functions, and rejected comparisons to the Disney-Fox merger, which he said Netflix had tried to use as a “sky is falling” narrative.
Paramount has committed to releasing at least 30 feature films annually after the acquisition, with a minimum 45-day theatrical window. The company also stated that its projected content spend is expected to increase significantly following the transaction.
