Montana Attorney General & Coalition Challenge Major Netflix-Warner Bros. Merger

Streaming services, they're everywhere now, aren't they? How many can you name off the top of your head? There's Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV... surely, I'm forgetting a few, but you get the point - they're everywhere.

And despite there being so many, several of those can be bundled together and if the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal goes through, there's no telling how other streaming services will respond or possibly band together to take on Netflix.

Is The Netflix-Warner Bros. Merger Good or Bad for Consumers?

On one hand, it could be easier for us consumers to navigate having a majority of our favorite programming under one login, one umbrella. On the other hand, Netflix merging with Warner Bros. could push the streaming giant closer to a monopoly.

Back in December 2025, it was announced by Netflix that they would acquire Warner Bros. following WB's separation from Discovery Global. The deal is massive with a "Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion (Equity Value of $72.0 Billion)."

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"Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix said in the official press release.

"By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows and movies—from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends—with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, we'll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling."

Montana Authorities Have the Netflix-Warner Bros. Merger in Their Crosshairs

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is reportedly leading a coalition of 11 state attorneys in asking the U.S. Department of Justice to review the deal, which Knudsen and the coalition say "will stifle competition and increase prices for Americans."

"This massive consolidation would place an unprecedented amount of content, distribution power, and market influence into the hands of a single corporation," Attorney General Knudsen said in his statement.

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"History shows us what happens when industries become dominated by a few giants: prices rise, choices shrink, and innovation suffers."

The letter submitted to the USDOJ asks authorities to review the deal under the Clayton Antitrust Act.

"The Netflix Warner Brothers merger represents another step toward a corporate landscape dominated by mega-conglomerates with too much control and too little accountability," Knudsen said in an op-ed for the Dillon Tribune.

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"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."