Netflix chief Ted Sarandos has responded to a social media call from Donald Trump to fire board member Susan Rice.
Sarandos told BBC Radio 4: “This is a commercial deal. This is not a political deal. This deal is managed by the Department of Justice in the United States and regulators across Europe and around the world.” today The program is on Monday.
His comments came as Netflix and Paramount compete to acquire Warner Bros. Entertainment. Discovery. Rice currently serves as a member of Netflix’s board of directors, and previously served as US National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2017 and as Domestic Policy Advisor from 2021 to 2023 during Democratic administrations.
Sarandos also ignored a question about Trump directly intervening in the bidding process for Warner Bros.’ “He likes to do a lot of things on social media,” he added. The Netflix co-CEO, who was in London to attend the BAFTA Awards on Sunday night, also spoke about his bid to acquire WBD before rival Paramount’s Monday deadline to submit the “best and last” bid.
Sarandos argued that the Warner Bros. partnership With Netflix that would lead to further growth in investment in original content and Hollywood in general. “This is a vertical merger. We’re buying a movie studio and a distribution entity that we don’t currently have — we’re going to add it to the market, which Paramount has pledged it will cut $6 billion of business immediately… This industry is going to be much smaller under this ownership than it would be under the Netflix version,” Sarandos told the British broadcaster.
He also reiterated his opposition to James Cameron’s endorsement of Paramount in the bidding process for WBD. After insisting he met with Cameron in December 2025 and Netflix committed to 45-day exclusivity for Warner Bros. films, Sarandos said, If his company wins its takeover of the Hollywood studio: “It doesn’t hurt. I would say it’s been very confusing.”
He added: “We spent five minutes of our conversation around that (window), and we talked mostly about these glasses that he is developing for Mita to watch movies at home.” Sarandos’ latest response came after Cameron sent a letter to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) arguing that allowing Netflix to buy the studio would deal a catastrophic blow to movie theaters and weaken a key cog in the Hollywood machinery in a way that would lead to massive job losses.
The director claimed that Sarandos planned to pursue a 17-day theatrical window, despite the Netflix chief saying he would keep the Warner Bros. films under wraps. In theaters for 45 days.
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