On Friday, Netflix made a rather groundbreaking announcement as the world’s most popular streaming service shared news that it had agreed to a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal that also includes HBO Max and HBO. However, Netflix has since faced several problems with that deal, and now faces another one.
Since the announcement late last week, however, Netflix has faced quite a few problems and stumbling blocks as it tries to move forward with the deal, and it seems like the company has hit another one.
Netflix Has Faced Challenges
While the acquisition would certainly be groundbreaking, Netflix has faced several hurdles since announcing the news. First, experts and politicians on both sides of the aisle have already begun expressing their concerns about the deal from an antitrust perspective.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts were just two of the names expressing concern. Even United States President Donald Trump warned that the deal “could be a problem.”
Additionally, Netflix has faced some pushback from Paramount, which is now trying to counter the acquisition by attempting its own hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Netflix Faces a New Challenge
While Netflix was already facing significant pushback and the possibility of a federal regulatory agency lawsuit as a result of the acquisition, the streaming giant is now facing a consumer lawsuit, as well.
U.S. federal antitrust laws allow consumers to sue over mergers and acquisitions in lawsuits separate from any federal regulatory agency lawsuit. One consumer appears to be doing just that, as a class-action lawsuit was filed on Monday that seeks to block the $72 billion acquisition.
The lawsuit was filed by a subscriber to HBO Max who said the proposed deal threatened to reduce competition in the U.S. subscription video-on-demand market.
“Netflix has demonstrated repeated willingness to raise subscription prices even while facing competition from full-scale rivals such as WBD,” the lawsuit said, via Reuters.
Reuters points out that consumer lawsuits like this one typically face “high legal hurdles,” but this lawsuit presents yet another obstacle for Netflix to contend with before its massive acquisition can be finalized.
