Why the Netflix,Warner Bros Merger Is Bad for Consumers, Creativity, and Competition

America’s entertainment industry has long thrived on competition, innovation, and creative freedom. From independent filmmakers to major studios, the success of this sector has depended on a marketplace where ideas compete on merit and consumers benefit from choice.

The proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers threatens to upend that balance, and not in a good way.

This massive consolidation would place an unprecedented amount of content, distribution power, and market influence into the hands of a single corporation. History shows us what happens when industries become dominated by a few giants: prices rise, choices shrink, and innovation suffers.

Netflix is already the dominant force in streaming. Warner Brothers’ HBO Max is one of the largest streamers itself and the company controls one of the most valuable content libraries in the world, including film franchises, television networks, and production studios that have shaped American culture for generations.

Combining these two powerhouses would create a vertically integrated behemoth capable of producing, distributing, and promoting its own content while squeezing out competitors.

Smaller streaming services, independent studios, and new market entrants would struggle to compete with a company that controls both the pipeline and the platform. Less competition means fewer incentives to improve service, invest in quality storytelling, or keep subscription prices affordable.

Consumers will feel the impact first, through higher costs, fewer options, and content increasingly locked behind one corporate gatekeeper.

Beyond the business consequences, this merger would fundamentally alter the creative landscape.

When one company controls so much of what gets made and how it gets distributed, diversity of storytelling inevitably declines. Executives prioritize what serves the bottom line over what challenges audiences, explores new perspectives, or takes creative risks.

Hollywood’s golden eras were built on rivalry, studios pushing each other to be better, filmmakers finding multiple avenues to bring their visions to life, and audiences benefiting from an abundance of choice.

Consolidation stifles that spirit. It replaces competition with control and creativity with corporate strategy.

Independent producers and regional film projects, including those that bring jobs and economic opportunity to states like Montana, will find fewer doors open when a single mega-corporation dominates the market.

Entertainment is not just another industry. It helps shape our culture, public discourse, and how Americans see the world.

Netflix isn’t just a streaming service; it’s a woke corporation with a well-documented history of pushing liberal ideology through its content. From controversial shows that promote extreme social agendas to documentaries that skew facts to fit a progressive narrative, Netflix has repeatedly used its platform to influence public opinion.

Allowing one company to wield outsized influence over what millions of people watch, hear, and consume daily raises serious concerns. Concentrated cultural power can limit viewpoints, marginalize smaller creators, and reduce the richness of American storytelling.

Antitrust laws exist for a reason: to prevent excessive consolidation that harms consumers and undermines fair competition.

This proposed merger should face rigorous scrutiny by regulators at both the state and federal levels. The question is not whether Netflix and Warner Bros. would be more profitable together — it’s whether Americans would be better off.

All evidence suggests they would not.

Montana understands the value of competition. Our small businesses, ranchers, entrepreneurs, and creators depend on a level playing field. When markets become concentrated in the hands of the few, everyone else pays the price.

The entertainment industry should be no different.

The Netflix Warner Brothers merger represents another step toward a corporate landscape dominated by mega-conglomerates with too much control and too little accountability.

For the sake of consumers, creators, and the future of American entertainment, this merger should be opposed. Competition drives innovation. Choice empowers consumers. And creativity flourishes when opportunity is open to all, not locked behind corporate consolidation.

By Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen