Lawmakers Think Warner Bros. Discovery Should Be Investigated

Four US lawmakers, led by Senator Liz Warren, have written to the Justice Department asking it to investigate Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) over concerns the media company is engaging in potentially anticompetitive practices after being “hollowed out” by Discovery following their merger. In a letter to Jonathan Kanter, DOJ’s antitrust chief, and Attorney General Merrick Garland, the lawmakers listed examples of shows, such as Batgirl and Killing Eve, getting cancelled in order for the company to save money, while others that were given the green light pre-merger end up being stalled in what they term development hell. The lawmakers cite the DOJ’s opposition in 2021 to the merger of Penguin Random House’s purchase of Simon & Schuster as proof that the government is prepared to take action to stop monopolies that it says reduces competition and harms consumers’ choices. At the time of writing, Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t responded to the allegations.

The four lawmakers say that the companies ability to adopt these types of practices decrease author compensation, reduce workers’ pay and freedom to move and ultimately, the public’s access to content. By “catching and killing” shows that get acquired by Warner Bros. Discovery, or eliminating jobs in the media and entertainment industry, the company is reducing both consumer choice and harming those working in affected labour markets. Cancelling programmes damages a creator’s reputation, making it harder for future projects to garner interest from other potential buyers.

The merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery closed in May 2021, after being announced months earlier, putting together the content from Warner Bros., HBO and CNN with Discovery’s vast network of cable channels. The deal came as the traditional broadcast model was being upended by subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. In December 2021, Warner Bros. Discovery cancelled several shows it had in development and non-scripted content, leading to over 300 layoffs. CEO David Zaslav has said the company’s upcoming streaming service will launch at the end of this year, aiming to offer “much more than Netflix or [Disney+] combined.”



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