Republican attorneys general from 11 states have urged the Justice Department to thoroughly review the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix (NFLX), saying the proposed transaction threatens the U.S.’s leadership in the film industry, according to a Wednesday report by Reuters, citing a letter.
The report said state attorneys general want the DOJ to closely investigate how the deal would impact streaming services customers, as well as the theatrical industry.
The deal “will likely result in undue market concentration that stifles competition and therefore creates higher prices, lower reliability, and less innovation for one of America’s major industries—all to the detriment of American consumers,” the attorneys general wrote in the letter seen by Reuters.
Hollywood critics have vehemently expressed their concerns and fear the deal would hurt the movie theater market, but Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has repeatedly reassured that it would not do so.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. said the revised offer from rival bidder Paramount Skydance (PSKY) might be ‘superior’ and was reviewing it, but for now, continued to recommend shareholders vote for the Netflix transaction.