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Lawmakers have written to the Justice Department demanding an “impartial” review of Fox Corp’s proposed $22 billion merger with Roku amid antitrust and behind-the-scenes deal-making concerns.
“In order to support the Antitrust Division’s responsibility to protect competition and consumers, we urge the Department of Justice to conduct a close audit of the proposed Fox-Roku transaction under antitrust law and to seek your commitment that the review will be conducted free of political interference and in an impartial manner,” said a July 16 letter to Stanley E. Woodward, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
“When the Department of Justice makes decisions based on political favoritism rather than facts and the law, the costs go up for American families,” the letter added.
Democratic politicians, led by US Senator Elizabeth Warren and US Representative Becca Balint, have raised concerns that “the Department may not give this deal the careful review it deserves. We are particularly troubled that you have advised federal antitrust enforcers that you want to avoid antitrust prosecutions.”
Fox’s $22 billion deal for Roku and its streaming platform will change the relationship the Lachlan Murdoch-led media giant has with other players in the TV ecosystem. Despite intense competition from companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple, Roku has emerged as the dominant streaming platform, and effectively the gateway to TV.
“A merger between Fox and Roku could also give the combined Fox-Roku entity an incentive to favor and direct viewers to Fox content for Roku’s 100 million households, disadvantaged Fox competitors and limited consumer choice,” the lawmakers added.
Their concerns extend to allegations of behind-the-scenes deal-making with lobbyists by Woodward amid increasing entertainment industry consolidation with Disney taking a controlling stake in Fubo as it merges with Disney Hulu + Live TV, Paramount combining with SkyDance and most recently the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger seeking final regulatory approvals.
“Recently reports indicate that you have told attorneys responsible for enforcing federal antitrust laws that you prefer not to take cases to trial, but instead resolve issues through settlements. We are concerned that settlements open opportunities for more backdoor deals like the ones we have seen during this administration, and will weaken enforcers’ ability to pursue antitrust violations in order to lower prices for American families,” the July 16 letter said.
“Because of the cloud of corruption surrounding the Trump administration and its apparent use of the merger review system to extract political favors, the review of the Fox-Roku deal must be diligent and strictly impartial. “We ask for assurances that you will not only closely review the proposed transaction under antitrust law, but that the decisions made about this merger will be based on the facts and the law, and will not be corrupted by influence peddling or political favoritism,” the lawmakers added.
The full text of the message is below:
