Foreign state ownership of media companies is ‘bad idea’, says Netflix boss

James Warrington

Mon, February 23, 2026 at 8:59 PM GMT+9 3 min read

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Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive, says Gulf states will probably have editorial influence - Kevin Dietsch/Getty

The boss of Netflix has hit out at a rival Middle East-backed takeover bid for Warner Bros, claiming that foreign state ownership of media companies is a “bad idea”.

Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix, has criticised the involvement of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Paramount’s $108bn (£80bn) offer for Warner Bros, highlighting restrictions on free speech in the Gulf states.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I think it’s a bad idea typically to have several sovereign wealth funds in that Paramount deal. Again, a part of the world that is not very big on the First Amendment.”

Paramount, which is controlled by billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is vying to take control over both the Warner Bros studio and its cable channels, including the news network CNN.

It has insisted that the sovereign wealth funds will forgo any governance rights, including board seats.

But Mr Sarandos dismissed claims that the Middle Eastern states would have no influence over editorial output.

He said: “It seems very odd to me with the level of investment that we’re talking about that they’d have no influence or editorial control over media in another country.”

Gulf ownership of media assets has been thrust into the spotlight in recent years after Abu Dhabi-backed fund RedBird IMI mounted an unsuccessful takeover bid for The Telegraph.

The swoop was blocked by new laws banning foreign state ownership of British newspapers, which were introduced following a cross-party outcry over press freedom.

Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar are contributing $24bn to Paramount’s bid – twice the amount committed by the Ellison family.

RedBird Capital, the US private equity fund that was the minority partner in the failed Telegraph takeover, is also funding the bid.

Netflix had previously struck an $83bn takeover deal with Warner Bros, which is behind major film franchises including the Harry Potter series, in December.

But it now faces the prospect of a bitter bidding war with Paramount, which has been seeking to derail the transaction with its own bid.

Warner Bros has repeatedly rebuffed Paramount’s approaches, but has given the company a week to table its “best and final” offer amid speculation that it could raise its bid from $30 to $31 per share. That deadline expires on Monday.

Paramount has offered to pay $31 per share in its bid to purchase Warner Bros - Michael Yanow/NurPhoto

Mr Sarandos argued that the Netflix deal represented growth, whereas the Paramount swoop was an example of “classic horizontal media mergers that are always bad for consumers, always bad for creators”.

He pointed to Paramount’s plans to cut $6bn in costs following the merger, arguing that further cost-cutting would follow to pay down debt.

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He added: “This industry would be much smaller under that ownership than it would be under Netflix ownership.”

However, Netflix’s proposed takeover is facing fierce scrutiny from competition regulators because of concerns that combining two major streaming services – Netflix and HBO Max – would hand the company too much power.

Netflix has shrugged off concerns, saying the deal would lead to lower overall streaming costs for consumers. However, it has acknowledged that the regulatory process could take up to 18 months.

Paramount, which would also face regulatory scrutiny, last week said it had cleared a key hurdle with the US department of justice.

The rival suitors must also contend with Donald Trump’s interventions in the deal. The US president this week called on Netflix to sack Susan Rice, formerly a senior official in Barack Obama’s administration, from its board or “pay the consequences”.

Mr Sarandos played down concerns about political interference, saying: “This is a business deal, it’s not a political deal.”

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