As Paramount and Netflix square off over ownership of Warner Bros Discovery, another institution is girding for the battle: the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said he “would be involved” in the decision over who ultimately buys WBD, setting off speculation about which buyer the president may favour, with the potential to influence the outcome through the justice department’s antitrust powers.
Paramount’s David Ellison has long been seen as holding the antitrust edge, partly thanks to his father Larry Ellison, the billionaire Oracle founder and Trump ally. That perception was reinforced after it emerged this week that the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is among the financial backers for Paramount’s bid.