Netflix faces a fresh wave of political and regulatory pressure on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, as co-CEO Ted Sarandos appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel to defend the company’s proposed deal for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets. The hearing comes with the transaction already under scrutiny in Washington and abroad, and with a rival bidder trying to pry the company away from Netflix.
In the run-up to Sarandos’ testimony, conservative advocacy group The Oversight Project circulated a 47-page report in Washington urging officials to treat Netflix as an ideological “messaging” force and to subject any major acquisition to intense federal review, according to a person familiar with the report’s distribution. The group’s executive director, Mike Howell, said he wants senators to question how Netflix’s board and leadership influence content decisions and raised concerns tied to the company’s past ties to the Obamas’ Higher Ground projects.
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery have pitched the deal as a strategic combination that would pair Netflix’s global scale with marquee franchises and the HBO brand. Sarandos’ appearance, however, highlights the transaction’s high political stakes as regulators weigh market concentration in streaming, film and TV production, and distribution. In the U.K., more than a dozen politicians and former policymakers have urged the Competition and Markets Authority to open a full review, warning the deal could deepen Netflix’s power and reduce consumer choice.
Warner Bros. Discovery has told investors it expects to put the Netflix agreement to a shareholder vote in March, once its preliminary proxy process clears. A rejection could hand leverage to Paramount Skydance, which has mounted a hostile $108.4 billion bid and extended its tender-offer deadline to Feb. 20.
Netflix has attacked that competing offer as shaky. Co-CEO Greg Peters told the Financial Times that Paramount’s proposal “doesn’t pass sniff test,” arguing Netflix’s all-cash structure offers clearer value and fewer financing questions.
