[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.

[lotsofpulp]

If the industry is defined as one that makes entertainment, then no one is dominant. Oracle and bytedance (tiktok), Meta (instagram), Alphabet (youtube), Reddit, Video Games, and even the sports leagues are huge competitors for screen time.

Even restricting the industry to professionally made videos, there is Apple, Amazon, Comcast, Disney, Netflix, Sony, and Paramount. Ignoring the small ones like A24 and Lionsgate. Having or not having Warner Bros be a separate entity seems inconsequential, considering the weight of the others.

[dangus]

Maybe this is too much of a side topic or tangent, but I think that mergers shouldn’t be legal by default once a company is a certain size, regardless of the level of competition.

I understand that there is a lot of competition and that a merger at this stage probably won’t harm competition significantly.

But that shaky justification can be used until suddenly there isn’t sufficient competition.

This reminds me of a recent Wendover Productions video talking about antitrust waivers for airline alliances flying transatlantic flights. In recent waiver applications, the ability to compete with other airline alliance conglomerates that have received antitrust exceptions is the justifying reason for requesting an antitrust exception, and that keeps happening until the industry becomes wildly consolidated.

I think our antitrust system should say, while you have a lot of competitors, and under that criteria you would be allowed to merge, but your company revenue/market cap/employee count/majority owner wealth is too high to be eligible to merge. You’re sufficiently large and prosperous, there is no need to grow your company larger through M&A. If you don’t like the business environment you are in, change your operations. You have the money to pursue your goals.