Overview
- Netflix confirmed an $82.7 billion agreement to acquire Warner Bros.’ studio assets, including HBO and HBO Max, while separating CNN and other cable properties into Discovery Global.
- In an op-ed and a joint Instagram post with the Committee for the First Amendment, Jane Fonda called the consolidation an alarming escalation that could threaten free expression.
- Fonda described the moment as a potential constitutional crisis and urged the Justice Department and state attorneys general to conduct rigorous antitrust reviews.
- She warned the combined power could weaken bargaining by SAG-AFTRA, WGA, PGA, DGA and IATSE, leading to fewer jobs, fewer creative risks and less diversity of stories.
- Fonda cited recent episodes as evidence of political pressure tied to merger reviews, pointing to the Skydance–Paramount process, an FCC inquiry into 60 Minutes and fallout around late-night shows.