David Ellison’s Netflix Scare Tactic Faces European Reality

David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, is making a bold claim in his bid to take over Warner Bros. Discovery for $108 billion. He believes that European regulators will block Netflix from buying Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison argues that his buyout deal is a faster and more certain path to completion, suggesting that the European Commission and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority would not allow the world’s largest streaming service to acquire one of its major global competitors.

Ellison points to Netflix’s substantial market share in Europe, holding approximately 51% of the continent’s subscription video on-demand (SVOD) market. He sees Netflix’s potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery as a move to eliminate HBO Max, one of Netflix’s few international competitors. Ellison predicts that EU regulators will reject Netflix’s broad market definition of “all internet-enabled video” that includes subscription streaming services, YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms. Instead, he believes they will focus specifically on the SVOD market, where Netflix’s dominance is most significant. Ellison suggests that EU regulations, such as the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, were designed for situations like this, emphasizing the need for competition in the streaming landscape.