Speaking Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy, and consumer rights, Ted Sarandos repeatedly rejected claims that the merger would lead to concentration in the streaming industry if regulators allow it to go through.
Still, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) pointed out Netflix last year raised prices while continuing to add subscribers. In 2025, Netflix raised its lowest-tier plan with ads, by $1 per month and its two higher tiers, standard plan with no ads and its premium plan, by $2.50 and $2, respectively.
Klobuchar said she feared if Netflix acquired Warner Bros. and its streamer HBO Max, the third most popular in the U.S. by subscribers, it would be incentivized to raise prices.
Sarandos pushed back on the idea that Netflix would suddenly become a bad deal, saying the company has given its subscribers top value for their money during past price hikes.
“Whenever we come back and ask for a little more money it’s because we’ve given them a lot more value,” he said.
Previously in the hearing, Sarandos claimed Netflix’s prices have gone up slower than competing services, and that Netflix subscribers spend on average 35 cents per hour of content they watch on the service.
If at any point, subscribers don’t see the value in what Netflix is providing them, its customers also aren’t tied to Netflix.
“We are a one-click cancel, so if at any point the consumer says ‘That’s too much for what I’m getting,’ they can just with one click of the button cancel Netflix,” Sarandos said.
A spokesperson for Netflix confirmed consumers can cancel their subscription with one click but did not comment further.
Netflix in December said it would acquire Warner Bros., HBO, and HBO Max, in a $72 billion deal it later amended to be paid completely in cash. Cable channels like CNN, TNT, and HGTV will not be part of the acquisition and instead are expected to be spun off via the separation of the company’s Global Linear Networks business, Discovery Global, which is set to be completed by the third quarter of 2026.
Netflix has said the deal will accelerate its business by giving its subscribers access to the large library of Warner Bros. shows and movies, including the Harry Potter series and The Big Bang Theory.
To be sure, Netflix’s stock has sunk about 19% since it announced the merger. Even if the deal goes through, Netflix could be looking at a period of uncertainty and risks, as well as a potentially small return on its invested capital, wrote Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett in a research note.
In terms of content, Sarandos said the deal will allow Netflix to expand the Warner Bros. content as well as Netflix’s own production in the U.S., adding American jobs.
“[Subscribers] have to really love what they’re watching and thank goodness we’re doing a good job of that,” he added.
