A potential deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) streaming and movie studio businesses has raised fresh concerns about consolidation in the streaming industry. Attempting to quell fears that an acquisition of WBD’s streaming and movie studio businesses might lead to higher prices, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarados suggested in a Senate hearing today that any merger would have the opposite effect.

During the hearing, which was held by the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, Sarandos sought to convince the senators that Netflix wouldn’t hold a streaming monopoly if regulators allow the acquisition to close.

Netflix is the largest subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) provider by subscribers (301.63 million as of January 2025), and WBD is the third (128 million streaming subscribers, including users of HBO Max and, to a lesser degree, Discovery+).

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