The battle for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has already lit a fire in Hollywood, with unions decrying the potential job losses, theaters sounding an alarm about the future of film releases and actors worrying about free speech.
Now, the debate over which company will end up owning Warner Bros. — Netflix Inc. or Paramount Skydance Corp. — is carving up the country along political lines.
In Republican circles, it’s become fashionable to root against Netflix. Paramount is run by David Ellison, who has close ties to the White House and whose bid for Warner Bros. is backed by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump. Some prominent Democrats, on the other hand, are voicing objections to the Paramount bid, crying foul over the $24 billion that’s coming from Middle East sources.
President Trump added drama on Wednesday when he said that any deal for Warner Bros. should include the sale of its CNN cable news network.
“It should be guaranteed that CNN is part of it or sold separately,” he said. The network is run by “a very dishonest group of people.”
