Trump Vs. Netflix, Apple: White House Warns Warner Bros. Should 'Think Really Hard' About Bidders

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is listening to bids for its business and assets after receiving multiple offers from Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY).If the President Donald Trump administration has its way, Warner Bros. will say yes to Paramount Skydance.Trump Admin Signals Support for Paramount SkydanceRecent reports link multiple interested parties to acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV assets or the entire company.Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Paramount Skydance, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) have all been named as interested parties according to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav.The Trump administration could be tipping its hat to showing a preference for Paramount Skydance in any potential bidding war."Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is every important to the administration," a senior Trump administration official told the New York Post. "The Warner board needs to think very seriously not just on the price competition but which player in the suitor pool has been successful getting a deal done."While most investors can read between the lines and realize that this would likely mean Paramount Skydance, given their recent merger approved by the Trump administration, the senior official actually spells it out."And that points to the Ellisons," the senior administration official said.The Ellisons refers to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and his father Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a longtime ally of Trump and one of the top owners of the media company. "Warner really needs to think really hard about the odds of success getting the deal cleared with players outside of Paramount Skydance."The comments from the Trump administration suggest that Netflix, Amazon, Apple, or Comcast could face regulatory hurdles if they choose to pursue acquiring parts or all of Warner Bros. Discovery.Comcast could face significant hurdles with the Trump administration due to its ownership of MSNBC and NBC, which have often been criticized by the president for being anti-Trump, according to the report.Amazon and Netflix could face antitrust concerns if they try to buy streaming platform HBO Max or acquire the company outright.Paramount previously paid a $16 million settlement to President Trump over a lawsuit against the company's "60 Minutes" program. The company's CBS division has since emphasized ending what it calls left-wing bias.Read Also: Warner Bros. Discovery Raises Streaming Prices A Month After CEO Said Plans Were ‘Way Underpriced’Warner Bros. & Paramount Skydance Tie-Up Coming?Paramount Skydance has submitted multiple offers for Warner Bros. Discovery, including a bid of $24, which was rejected as being too low. Warner Bros. Discovery said it would explore offers after receiving bids from Paramount Skydance.Warner Bros. Discovery has a planned split that will create two companies, one for the film and TV studios and one with cable channels. The planned split could make the sale of certain assets easier than from a company with no plans to split up segments.Earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized a potential combination of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance, given David Ellison's close ties to the president."One of Trump's billionaire buddies just bought Paramount. Now, he wants to buy Warner Bros," Warren tweeted.Warren warned that a potential merger could have "one giant company control almost everything you watch on TV."The Senator previously criticized the merger of Paramount and Skydance that was approved after the settlement with Trump. Warren said there should be an investigation after a "big fat bribe" was paid.Warner Bros. Discovery Stock ActionWarner Bros. Discovery shares closed Friday down 0.5% at $21.15. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $21.57 during Friday's trading session. The stock is up over 98% year-to-date in 2025. Netflix’s Ted Sarandos And Greg Peters Downplay Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Threat: ‘We Have Been More Builders Than Buyers’ © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images