The Hollywood Teamsters‘ boss Lindsay Dougherty joined several other union leaders in raising alarm bells Friday regarding Netflix’s plans to acquire Warner Bros. in an $82 billion deal.
Following the news that the streaming giant had won the bidding war for the one of the most storied studios in the entertainment industry, the below-the-line union’s secretary treasurer warned in a statement that the development is “yet another call for alarm as we continue to see these corporate giants seek mergers and billion-dollar fast track consolidation deals.”
“Netflix is the biggest streaming service in the world. Consolidating its power over the streaming video market not only kills jobs but also raises prices and hurts the U.S. entertainment industry. Teamsters have been clear on our position that greed-fueled consolidation of corporate power, no matter what industry, is a direct threat to good union jobs, the livelihood of our members and the very existence of our industry,” the statement read.
Arguing that competition has “has built the infrastructure to create diversified content and storytelling, and in that, a workforce to support and grow the film and television industry,” Dougherty blamed the streaming behemoth for at least some of the problems plaguing the entertainment industry currently.
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“Before Netflix won the streaming wars, workers and consumers benefited from robust competition. The golden age of TV meant more jobs and more choices for consumers. In an already shrinking market, these mergers, alongside the infiltration of big tech, should be of great concern as we navigate an uncharted future,” her statement continued. “Teamsters will continue to challenge and call for the opposition across all levels of government and that antitrust enforcers reject this deal and any other deal seeking the consolidation of power and market.”
The Teamsters joins the WGA, DGA and SAG-AFTRA in warning about the possible negative outcomes of this acquisition, though they’ve all weighed in to varying degrees. In a joint statement from the WGA East and West on Friday morning, the organizations disavowed the merger, echoing the Teamsters in declaring that “the world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent.”
The directors and actors unions, on the other hand, have taken a bit more of a tempered approach. Both have expressed that they intend to discuss “serious” concerns and questions regarding the sale before taking a position.
It’s been a tumultuous 24 hours in the entertainment industry. Thursday saw Paramount move aggressively to counter Netflix’s offer and seal a deal of its own for WBD. However, Netflix still prevailed with a deal that sees them paying $27.75 a share for the venerable Hollywood studio.
WBD put itself on the block in October to open up the process after receiving three consecutive offers from Paramount. Now owned by the Ellison family, which has close ties to the Trump administration, Paramount had repeatedly argued that it is the only one of the three offers that were on the table with a clear path to closing, insisting in an open letter published yesterday that the rival offers from Netflix and Comcast both “present serious issues that no regulator will be able to ignore.”
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