Negotiations are intensifying around Netflix’s significant bid to acquire Warner Discovery, a complex process that recently saw Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos planning a visit to the White House for meetings. This visit is notably set against a backdrop of increasing political pressure, particularly from former President Donald Trump, who has publicly demanded the streaming giant fire board member Susan Rice.

Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to call for Netflix to “immediately” terminate former UN ambassador and current board member Susan Rice, threatening the company with “consequences” if they failed to comply. Responding to this political intervention, Sarandos firmly stated in an interview, “This is a business deal. It’s not a political deal,” underscoring Netflix’s intent to keep the acquisition focused on its commercial merits.

While Netflix is actively working to finalize an $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming businesses, the landscape has become more competitive. Paramount Skydance recently escalated its offer to $31 per share, prompting Warner Bros. Discovery’s board to engage further with Paramount. This engagement aims to ascertain if a “company superior proposal” – a term explicitly defined within the existing Netflix agreement – can be reached. Should the WBD board deem Paramount Skydance’s offer superior, Netflix would be granted a four-business-day window to propose revisions to its original deal. Adding another layer to the competitive dynamic, Paramount CEO David Ellison was a guest of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

Further complicating Netflix’s strategic maneuvers, the Department of Justice Antitrust division is currently evaluating the company’s market power and dealmaking activities. Ted Sarandos has been actively engaged in countering perceptions of Netflix holding an outsized share of the market, which he recently discussed with Variety. He articulated, “Most of the work that we’ve been doing is un-ringing the bells of a misinformation campaign. What is our market share? I mean, the market share is very clear. Nielsen publishes the market share constantly, called The Gauge, and it shows that we are 9% of the business. And if you put HBO together with us, we’re 10% of the business. And it certainly is nowhere near monopoly, which folks have been batting around the last couple of days, which is 50-70% market share. It’s insane.” Following these developments, Netflix itself offered no further comment.