As Ted Sarandos plots what may be a marathon, not a sprint, for Netflix to eventually buy Warner Bros. in what may be a $83 billion-plus megadeal, he also needs to keep in mind an audience of one throughout the process: Donald Trump.
The mogul made an unannounced visit to the White House on Nov. 24, days before Netflix’s offer to buy the studio side of Warners business was revealed as the winning bid by the David Zaslav-run conglomerate in early December. And Sarandos’ has been studied in his answers on how Trump sees the deal, and the President likewise had some kind words for the Netflix co-chief, too. (“Ted is a fantastic man. I have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said on Dec. 7, right before hosting the Kennedy Center honors, before adding a hedge: “But it’s a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”)
Of late, there’s been some chatter about a posted-without-comment item that Trump made on his media platform, Truth Social, on Jan. 11 of an article titled “Stop the Netflix Cultural Takeover” published by the conservative One America News Network. The piece by John Pierce, an attorney that once represented Kyle Rittenhouse, Rudy Giuliani and 20 Jan. 6 Capitol Riot defendants, describes Netflix as “the woker, ideologically preferred buyer” compared to Paramount owner David Ellison and his $255 billion net worth father, Larry Ellison, both of whom have been viewed as closer with the Trump administration.
Sarandos take? Try not to read into it too much. During an interview with The New York Times timed to the closing of a deal for Netflix to build a new production base at the former Fort Monmouth site in New Jersey, Sarandos shed more light on his interactions with Trump (“I’ve talked to him a couple times since the election”) and was asked about the latest turn on Truth Social.
“I don’t know why he would have done that,” Sarandos told the paper of the post. “No conversation we ever had was about any of the things that were in that article that he posted. I don’t want to overread it, either.”
Sarandos, in the interview, says Trump sees Hollywood in the “context of protecting jobs and protecting the industry.” That framing recalls remarks that the President’s go-between for the entertainment industry and the White House, producer Steven Paul, has also offered up. “This is about creating high-paying, skilled jobs all throughout America,” Paul told The Hollywood Reporter for a September profile of Trump’s protectionist views (remember the Trump movie tariff?) as well as the idea of a federal tax incentive for the industry.
Speaking of managing constituencies, Sarandos was also asked by the Times about Netflix’s commitment to the theatrical business, given that the major movie theater chains have appealed to Congress to stop any deal for Warner Bros. Sarandos firmly reiterated a plan to keep a 45-day theatrical window in place. He also had what may be a memorable line about an emerging Hollywood narrative that neither buyer should be able to lay claim to Warner Bros., given it reduces the the already shrinking list of major legacy studios still standing.
“What people would like to see is no deal,” Sarandos told the paper. “But that’s not possible. There are two outcomes of this deal, and we have a signed deal done.”
