Digital Liberty op-ed in RealClear Markets: Shareholders, Not Bureaucrats, Should Decide the WBD Merger

By Nate Norris

On January 27, 2026, RealClear Markets published an op-ed on Netflix’s bid to purchase Warner Bros.-Discovery by Digital Liberty’s Executive Director James Erwin. The op-ed stands behind the financial decisions of Netflix and the shareholders at WBD and makes a case against federal attempts to prevent the merger.

The American antitrust enforcement has operated under the consumer welfare standard for almost 50 years. Without a smoking gun to prove consumer harm from Netflix buying Warner Bros., the choice should fall on WBD shareholders, not bureaucrats.
Claims that WBD has preferred Netflix’s bid over a better offer from Paramount due to the streaming competitor sharing woke ideologies with the legacy platform serves as another angle to get the government involved in the free market decisions of streaming services.

According to the majority of Americans, consolidation would serve the streaming industry well. Consumers have not forgotten a time, not long ago, you did not need a dozen miscellaneous subscriptions to get through a season of NFL.

Any attempt to prevent the shareholders of WBD from selling to Netflix should be similarly dismissed. On the merits, there is no argument for consumer harm arising from the merger of Netflix and HBO Max in the streaming market. Perhaps the deal’s detractors believe that there are not enough streaming services out there, but the majority of Americans disagree. If any market is ripe for consolidation, it is streaming.

While opponents are not able to claim consumer harm from Netflix’s bid, they stoke the fears of a streaming monopoly in the event that Netflix acquires Warner Bros. These fears are exaggerated, as Netflix currently competes as the third largest streamer behind Disney and Prime.

Netflix pioneered modern streaming to become what it is now. Blocking a potential merger with Warner Bros. would punish innovation, sending a message that free market competition can be held down by the whims of arbitrary government actions.

Preventing them from claiming this spot would punish success. Unlike legacy studios WBD and Paramount, Netflix is the new kid on the block. They were the disruptor who pioneered modern streaming, now emulated by all the major studios. Netflix does not have an 80-year-old IP library, multiple major franchises, a studio footprint, theme parks, or cable assets. For them, acquiring WBD is not a merger of peers but an innovative young company joining the big leagues. They should not be prevented from doing this because they have been too successful in the estimation of some bureaucrat.

Leaving the decision to the shareholders is the right course of action because it requires no action from the government. Allowing the free market to continue encourages innovation through competition. Blocking this merger not only stifles the growth of a promising pioneer; it opens the door for future in which the government picks winners and losers.

Read the full op-ed here.