Netflix says users can cancel service if HBO Max merger makes it too expensive

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on February 3, 2026 in Washington, DC. Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

There is concern that subscribers might be negatively affected if Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD’s) streaming and movie studios businesses. One of the biggest fears is that the merger would lead to higher prices due to Netflix having less competition. During a Senate hearing today, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos suggested that the merger would have an opposite effect.

Sarandos was speaking at a hearing held by the US Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, “Examining the Competitive Impact of the Proposed Netflix-Warner Brothers Transaction.”

Sarandos aimed to convince the subcommittee that Netflix wouldn’t become a monopoly in streaming or in movie and TV production ...