Netflix says that if the HBO merger makes it too expensive, you can always cancel

There is concern Subscribers could be negatively affected if Netflix acquires Warner Bros.’ streaming business and film studios. Discovery. One of the biggest concerns is that the merger will lead to higher prices due to reduced competition for Netflix.

During a US Senate hearing on Tuesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos suggested that the merger would have the opposite effect.

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

Sarandos aimed to convince the subcommittee that Netflix would not become a monopoly in streaming or film and TV production if regulators allowed its acquisition to close. Netflix is ​​the largest subscription video-on-demand provider by subscribers (301.63 million as of January 2025), and Warner Bros. Discovery is in third place (128 million streaming subscribers, including users of HBO Max and, to a lesser extent, Discovery+).

Speaking at the hearing, Sarandos said: “Netflix and Warner Bros. both have streaming services, but they are very complementary. In fact, 80 percent of HBO Max subscribers also subscribe to Netflix. We will give consumers more content for less.”

During the hearing, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota asked Sarandos how Netflix could ensure streaming would remain “affordable” after the merger, especially after Netflix issued a price increase in January 2025 despite adding more subscribers.

Sarandos said the live streaming industry remains competitive. The executive claimed that Netflix’s previous price increases had “much more value” to subscribers.

“We do one-click cancellation, so if a consumer says, ‘This is too much for what I’m getting,’ they can cancel with one click,” Sarandos said.

When pressed further on pricing, the executive said the merger poses “no risk to concentration” and that Netflix is ​​working with the US Department of Justice on potential guardrails against further price hikes.

Sarandos claimed that the merger would “create greater value for consumers.” However, his idea of ​​value is not just about how much subscribers pay for streaming, but also about the quality of the content. By his calculations, which he provided without further details, Netflix subscribers spend an average of 35 cents per hour of content they watch, compared to 90 cents for Paramount+.

Netflix’s statistics are similar to those provided by MoffettNathanson in January 2025, which found that in the previous quarter, on average, Netflix generated 34 cents in subscription fees per hour of content viewed per subscriber. At the time, the research firm said Paramount+ generated an average of 76 cents per hour of content watched per subscriber.

Reducing monopoly concerns

Netflix views Warner as “both a competitor and a supplier,” Sarandos said when the subcommittee’s chairman, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, asked why Netflix wanted to buy WB Film Studios, according to Variety. The streaming executive claimed that Netflix’s “history is about adding more and more” content and choice.

During the hearing, Sarandos argued that streaming is a competitive business and pointed to Google, Apple and Amazon as “deep-pocketed tech companies trying to escape the TV business.” He tried to play down concerns that Netflix could become a monopoly by emphasizing YouTube’s high TV viewership. Nielsen’s The Gauge tracker shows which platforms Americans use most when using their TVs (rather than laptops, tablets or other devices). In December, it said that YouTube, excluding YouTube TV, generated more TV viewership (12.7 percent) than any other video-on-demand streaming service, including second-place Netflix (9 percent). Sarandos claimed that Netflix would get 21 percent of the streaming market if it merged with HBO Max.