The $100bn media battle that could change everything
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Netflix and Paramount are locked in an epic fight to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. The price tag could well reach north of $100bn. And at stake - a huge back catalogue of blockbuster film and TV, a streaming giant, a Hollywood studio, even CNN.
Enter Donald Trump, who's expressed concern about the potential for a monopoly, and also reportedly wants a say on any potential restructuring of the news network under new ownership. The outcome could result in the mother of all media monoliths.
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren has claimed that Netflix and Warner Bros. combined would capture close to half of the streaming market -that figure is disputed by Netflix, which says it has less than a 20% market share.
Could it really be determined by Donald Trump's ire at one recent Marjorie Taylor Greene interview?
Later, Lewis speaks to Noah Oppenheim, the writer of 'A House of Dynamite', a film that deals with a nuclear strike on America. The Pentagon doesn't like his depiction - why?
The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:09.2 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.5 | Do you support the Paramount made for Warner Brothers that came to this morning? |
| 0:15.7 | I don't know enough about it. |
| 0:16.6 | You spoke about Netflix last night saying you have concerns about them. I know the company is very well. I know what they're doing, but I have to see. |
| 0:23.6 | I have to see what percentage of market there. |
| 0:26.6 | We have to see the Netflix percentage of market, Paramount. |
| 0:30.6 | The percentage of the market. |
| 0:32.6 | I mean, none of them are particularly great friends in mind. |
| 0:35.6 | You know, I just, I want to do what's right. |
| 0:39.2 | It's so very important to do what's right. |
| 0:41.1 | The Paramount is supported by Jared Kushner, Mr. President. |
| 0:43.9 | Would that impact your decision? |
| 0:46.2 | If Paramount is, I don't know, I've never spoken to him. |
| 0:49.6 | He's really trying to work on Gaza. |
| 0:53.3 | I think, gosh,'s his primary thing. |
| 0:54.9 | That is Donald Trump talking about one of the biggest media stories, but actually one of the |
| 0:59.8 | biggest political stories of the year. The proposed sale of Warner Brothers, a Hollywood |
| 1:06.2 | Titan studio, potentially to Netflix, potentially to Paramount, and of course, Trump finds himself, |
| 1:15.3 | wants to put himself at the centre of it. And Donald Trump says none of the people involved |
| 1:20.4 | are great friends of mine, well, up to a point. Your son-in-law is involved and your good friends |
| 1:26.7 | with the Ellison family, also critical players. |
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