UK politicians call for competition review of Netflix bid for Warner Bros

Jan 27 (Reuters) – More than a dozen British politicians and former policymakers have called on the country's competition watchdog to launch a full review of Netflix's $83 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The group of politicians, in a letter dated January 23 to Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, raised concerns that the deal "will cement an already dominant player" in the TV streaming market. The politicians said the deal could lead "to a substantial lessening of competition with damaging consequences for consumers". The Financial Times first reported the letter. The CMA, which has operational independence, said it couldn't speculate on cases it would or would not look into outside of a formal investigation. Warner Bros and Netflix did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.  Netflix's proposed deal for Warner Bros Discovery has been facing political pushback and regulatory scrutiny, with some members of the U.S. Congress deeming the acquisition an antitrust "nightmare" for consumers and creatives. Bloomberg reported last week that the European Union's antitrust regulators are expected to scrutinize rival bids by Netflix and Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros at the same time, setting up an unusual head-to-head competition review.   The letter to the CMA was signed by Chris Smith, Oliver Dowden and Karen Bradley, who have all acted as Britain's secretary of state for culture, media and sport, as well as Tony Hall, a former director-general of the BBC.  Other signatories include Guy Black, chair of the News Media Association and deputy chair of Telegraph Media Group, and Tina Stowell, former leader of the House of Lords. (Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru and Sam Tabahriti in London; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sharon Singleton)

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