[afavour]

I wasn’t bowled over by the idea of Netflix ownership but a merge of Paramount and Warner seems way, way worse. In a sane political situation this would raise huge antitrust concerns but… well, here we are I guess.

If it does go through I wonder if there’s a scenario where it still works out for Netflix: they could pick up assets at bargain prices when the merged studios inevitably sell and lay off everything they can.

[ls612]

The thing is it is less of an antitrust concern for two also-rans in an industry to merge than it is for the industry leader to buy a struggling competitor. People don’t like the politics of Paramount’s ownership but from a competition perspective this is the better outcome.

[afavour]

We’re talking about multiple industries here. In streaming Netflix is dominant. In terms of movie production studio Netflix is the also-ran compared to Warner and Paramount.

A purchase by Netflix would give them something they currently do not have. A purchase by Paramount is a much more direct merge of two competitors.

[roughly]

> People don’t like the politics of Paramount’s ownership but from a competition perspective this is the better outcome.

This was a much more compelling argument 14-odd months ago. People don’t like the politics of Paramount’s ownership because they’re aligned with the authoritarians currently trying to take control of the country - this isn’t a dispute over tax policy.

[LunaSea]

Paramount is the struggling competitor in this equation.

[softwaredoug]

State AGs play a role in anti trust enforcement. So it’s not over yet.

[lapetitejort]

When has a state AG successfully cancelled a merger? Did any state try to prevent Microsoft and Activision's merger?

[thiht]

I guess this would qualify as a protrust operation