Is the paramount/warner bros. Merger: Pro-competitive or Dangerous?

Now I want to make one thing very clear before we dive into this… I DO NOT LIKE PARAMOUNT, so this blog post might come with some bias. But I am willing to look at both sides of this situation in an impartial way.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the mega deal that is the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. David Ellison and his stooges claim this deal is “pro-competitive,” and the DOJ seems to agree. I personally believe calling this deal competitive is like Jerry Jones saying the Cowboys are Super Bowl contenders every year. Quite frankly, the delusion is laughable.

Paramount claims this deal is necessary for a multitude of reasons, one being to compete with tech companies like Amazon and Apple. Although I see their point, I think they forget what industry they are actually in.

Yes, tech companies like Amazon and Apple have entered entertainment with subsidiaries like Apple Studios and Amazon MGM. But as entertainment and media companies, they are nowhere near the level of Paramount and Warner Bros. separately. The only company that comes close is Amazon because of the MGM acquisition, and even then, I still don’t think they touch these two.

Paramount and Warner Bros. control way more than just movies. Respectively, they have TV networks, multiple production studios, news channels, streaming platforms, music distribution, and massive content libraries. They practically have their hand in every corner of the industry. So the argument that they need this deal just to compete with tech companies feels weak to me. By themselves, they are already giants.

Another argument made by the wannabe “super giants” at Paramount is that this deal is necessary to compete with Netflix. Now this one I actually understand.

If you look at Paramount’s library, even though they own a lot of IP, networks, and production companies, they still don’t stand much of a chance against Netflix in streaming. I’ve never once in my life said, “Let me go check Paramount+.”

Warner Bros. is different. Their catalog is significantly stronger, and their IP is much more prominent. They also control far more than people realize. So yes, a combination of these two companies absolutely creates a real competitor to Netflix. There’s no denying that.

The problem is that this is basically a monopoly of the industry

Now, the debate and probably what the DOJ used to justify this deal, is this: how can this be anti-competitive when companies like Disney and NBCUniversal still exist at similar levels? That’s fair.

But when I say monopoly, I don’t mean it in the literal textbook sense. I mean, this company would become too powerful and too influential to be controlled by one entity.

A merged Paramount and Warner Bros. company would have insane influence across film, television, cable, streaming, and news. In TV and news, especially, this company would dominate traditional cable because of the sheer number of assets and networks it would control. That alone should concern people.

In film, you can argue there’s still competition with mini-majors like Lionsgate and A24. But to that I say this: a company that big knows how to politic its way with theaters.

The more blockbuster films they release, the less room theaters have for mini-majors and independent films. That means fewer screens, worse release windows, and less visibility. Eventually, smaller players get pushed out.

That’s where this becomes dangerous.

At the end of the day, my point is simple: the number one thing that makes a product better is competition.

Any smart executive looks at what someone else is doing and finds a way to do it better. Competition creates innovation, urgency, and better products.

So if we go around buying up and forcing out competition, how do we ever get better?

Now, to be fair, I do understand why this deal might feel necessary. Netflix is one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world. In an era where streaming is king, having a massive content library matters.

The problem is, it doesn’t stop there.

All the smaller competitors now get squeezed and priced out of competing. So instead of creating more competition, this deal only creates a world where two superpowers fight at the top while everyone else struggles to survive.

And that, to me, is not pro-competitive.