David Zaslav escaped an antitrust hearing on Capitol Hill — but he may be called back
Warner Bros. CEO Discovery’s David Zaslav skipped town during a Senate antitrust hearing on his sale of Netflix — but the news executive allegedly so angered committee members that he not only vented his anger on those who came forward, he may be dragged to Capitol Hill to be eaten, On The Money has learned.
People close to Zaslav told On The Money that he missed Tuesday’s hearing because he was visiting Europe for the Winter Olympics, when he made a quick pit stop to meet with European regulators to outline the benefits of his Netflix deal.
That means he’s left the hard work back home — including fielding strong allegations from lawmakers that WBD is both creating Netflix coverage and aiding the takeover of left-wing broadcasters — to his chief executive, Bruce Campbell, and his deal partner, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos.
It proved ineffective, with bi-partisan skepticism reflecting the difficult passage of the deal through the Trump DOJ antitrust division. And Zas, as he is known in media circles, did not help matters by skipping the hearing, sources said.
“Let’s just say it didn’t go well in the committee,” said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The person, who has ties to GOP members of the subcommittee, said Lee, a Utah Republican, may call the next meeting to impeach Zas.
Zaslav’s spokesman did not immediately comment. Lee’s spokesperson told Fox Businesses Teuta Dedvukaj: “Chairman Lee is pleased that we can get representatives of Netflix and Warner Bros. Acquisition to be heard,” and declined further comment.
No Senate subcommittee can block the merger, but it can make a key recommendation to the antitrust division of Trump’s Justice Department, which should approve it. After the heated trial, Wall Street executives interviewed by On The Money said the reaction, especially the GOP nominations, foreshadowed a tougher review from Trump’s DOJ antitrust division and a possible lawsuit to block the deal.
The hearing was not bad for Sarandos, who was able to argue that the merger of his No. 1 broadcaster with No. 3 of WBD, HBO Max, will drop prices due to overlap between the two. The combined entity would also face competition from YouTube, thereby eating into its market and raising antitrust concerns, he said.
That said, at times you could see Sarandos sweat, in fact, especially under questions from GOP members about the host’s alleged left-wing bias in programming. The firm’s founder, Reed Hastings, a noted lawmaker, is a prominent progressive Democrat donor. Susan Rice, a senior Obama administration official on the left, sits on its board.
Sarandos was under fire from Republicans Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri, and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who questioned whether the less partisan and “woke” company should be given more market power.
That would include the overwhelming support of its staff and administration Democrats, its use of animated characters in children’s shows, its anti-regulation messages; its airing of a movie called “Cuties” that critics say is offensive to teenage girls, and its continued support for Diversity Equity and Inclusion in hiring and programming.
Sarandos, who is often tongue-in-cheek, explained that the Netflix show covers the entire spectrum of ideas. “Cuties,” he said, is a movie for adults, and the company doesn’t get involved in politics. That was after Schmitt showed him a post on Netflix’s social media page showing a video supporting “white guilt” during the George Floyd violence of 2020.
Sarandos’ response: That was “an unethical post that I deeply regret when it was sent.” He added that “his hope is that it will never happen again.”
Cruz became very angry when he asked Sarandos if he agreed with some talent at the recent Grammy Awards who attacked the country for racism, saying that it is wrong to deport illegal immigrants because the country is in “stolen territory.”
After Sarandos didn’t care about her answer, Cruz scolded her for not clearly saying “Oh no, we’re not in a stolen property.”
Now you know why Zaslav skipped town.
