During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) questioned Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos about opposition to the merger with Warner Bros.
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2:48If I may ask a direct question, then will this be a fully exclusive 45-day theatrical window?
3:15But you all are a company that's beholden to your shareholders and doesn't that mean that the forces that are moving against theaters, why we're seeing so many closures of theaters, would be affecting your decisions as well?
I'm getting back to the subject of antitrust. Thank you. I guess I just want to start by asking for unanimous consent. Maybe you and I can talk about it. I just want to enter into the record statements and letters from stakeholders in the entertainment industry from a lot of respected groups that believe they'd be harmed by this merger. And they include Cinema United, the largest trade organization in the world representing exhibitors and the owners of movie theaters. A statement from the Future Film Coalition, a national alliance representing filmmakers, producers, distributors, and other impacted workers. A letter from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Committee for the First Amendment, Writers Guild of America West, and other orgs that are opposed to this Warner Brothers acquisition by either Netflix or Paramount. And a letter from the International Documentary Association opposing any consolidation between major studios in Hollywood as well. Finally, a letter from the American Economic Liberties Project urging the State Attorneys General to block the proposed anti-competitive Netflix Warner Brothers Discovery transition. Can I, Chairman, can I introduce these to the record?
And I guess my first question would be why such a universal set of concerns, if not fears, that organizations who represent theater companies, who represent artists, who represent producers and directors, it seems pretty universal to me that people with a level of sophistication more than any senators about your industry seem to be really concerned. Can you shed some light on that?
Yeah, I would have to start, Senator, with the fact that the industry has been under attack for five years now. The pandemic, a prolonged strike, a production downturn for companies trying to squeeze more profits out of their businesses. Now, we've not been doing that and we got through the strikes and we got through the pandemic and keep producing and keep growing. But anytime there's change, the parties that you just discussed get nervous and rightfully so. They need to know that people are looking out for them and we are looking out for them. I mentioned the theaters. I have been asked to give a blood oath about the 45-day window. I think giving my testimony to you under oath is good enough.
And I've known you personally for a long time and to be a person of integrity, but I've heard more companies come before this body and make promises pre-merger that so many of them don't follow up. So let me just add...
I would also add, Senator, if you don't mind. You know, we have a long operating history of operating the way we do. So I think we could point to our track record of expansion and growth and adding more value to consumers.
Sarandos, T. (2026, February 9). Cory Booker Presses Netflix CEO On 'Universal' Fear In Industry About Warner Bros. Merger [Interview transcript]. Forbes Breaking News. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/694405/
MLA
Theodore Sarandos. "Cory Booker Presses Netflix CEO On 'Universal' Fear In Industry About Warner Bros. Merger." Forbes Breaking News, 9 Feb. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/694405/.
BibTeX
@misc{sarandos2026_694405,
author = {Theodore Sarandos},
title = {Cory Booker Presses Netflix CEO On 'Universal' Fear In Industry About Warner Bros. Merger},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Forbes Breaking News. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {feb},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/694405/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
