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Posted in: Current News, Movies, Netflix, Opinion, Paramount+, TV, TV | Tagged: netflix, paramount skydance, trump, warner bros discovery
Netflix, Paramount CEOs Aren't "Particularly Great Friends": Trump
If you believe Donald Trump, Paramount Skydance's David Ellison, and Netflix's Ted Sarandos aren't "particularly great friends" of his.
Article Summary
- Donald Trump says he’s not close friends with Netflix or Paramount CEOs amid their WBD merger battle.
- Paramount Skydance and Netflix are both vying for a stake in Warner Bros. Discovery’s future ownership.
- Trump claims he’ll stay neutral, focusing on regulatory fairness for both Netflix and Paramount deals.
- Kushner’s Affinity Partners and Middle East funds back Paramount’s bid, raising questions on political ties.
As David Ellison's Paramount Skydance and Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos' Netflix battle it out over who gets what from David Zaslav's Warner Bros. Discovery (here's a look at the latest, including Paramount Skydance's hostile bid and concerns about who is backing the company's latest move), POTUS Donald Trump wants the press to know that he's not looking to get into the middle of it – mostly because he's not really friends with any of them. When Ellison's company first expressed interest in WBD, Trump made his support for the move known to the press and on social media. Many saw the appointment of The Free Press' Bari Weiss to head CBS News and the pledge to have more voices heard as a thinly veiled overture to the Trump Administration in terms of CBS News' coverage approach to Trump moving forward. Over the weekend, we learned that Sarandos had met with Trump and his folks in November, with Trump having some kind words to say about Sarandos but offering nothing regarding his feelings on Netflix buying WBD (unlike he previously did with Paramount Skydance).
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Trump appeared to want to maintain a neutral public stance on the matter, noting that both companies would face hurdles to clear for a deal to receive regulatory approval from his Justice Department. "I know the companies very well. I know what they are doing. But I have to see… what percentage of market they have. We have to see the Netflix percentage of market, Paramount percentage of market. I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine. I want to do what's right," Trump said.
In official court filings reported earlier today, we learned that the tender offer from Paramount Skydance was being supported by $24 billion in debt financing from sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, as well as from Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. Kushner is Trump's son-in-law, having married Ivanka Trump. Though Kushner's Affinity Partners and the sovereign wealth funds have pledged "to forgo any governance rights – including board representation – associated with their non-voting equity investments," some are questioning what level of political influence and financial control this would afford them if Paramount Skydance's deal is finalized. When asked about Kushner's involvement in the deal, Trump claimed that he had not spoken with Kushner.
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