Netflix trying to "poison regulators" about WBD merger, Paramount lawyer claims
Notably, in a January SEC filing, Paramount said that it expects Paramount-WBD to spend less money on content as a combined company. Content spend would drop by less than 10 percent, and none of the spending reductions would come from “film/TV studios,” the filing said. Paramount CEO and chairman David Ellison has said that post-merger, Paramount would release at least 30 feature films annually, with each film being in theaters for at least 45 days. Ellison has been making this promise publicly since at least February. Paramount-WBD merger would lead to job losses Delrahim’s letter paints a rosy picture of jobs and content spend post-merger; however, Paramount has previously said that a merger with WBD would result in job losses as the merged company looks to save over $6 billion. Cost savings would primarily come from “duplicative operations across all aspects of the business — specifically back office, finance, corporate, legal, technology, infrastructure and real estate,” Paramount said in a January SEC filing. Notably, a merged Paramount and WBD would carry $79 billion in debt. In his note to the DOJ, Delrahim said that the merged company would not reduce headcount in production, “studio operations staff, or the skilled trade labor that the Teamsters and other unions represent.” Delrahim blames merger concerns on fear-mongering, antisemitism Although Netflix backed out of its deal to buy Paramount in February, Delrahim believes Netflix is trying to turn people against Paramount buying WBD. His letter reads: Netflix has tried to persuade the Teamsters and other stakeholders that Disney’s [2019] acquisition of [21st Century] Fox had a negative impact on content production and labor opportunities. Frankly, Netflix’s “sky is falling” narrative departs significantly from the ground-truth reality of what actually happened. In its March letter, The International Brotherhood of Teamsters pointed to Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox as indicative of what would happen if Paramount buys WBD. Disney’s Fox studios merger resulted in “eliminated production units, significant job losses, and canceled projects.”
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