{"id":454178,"date":"2026-02-07T08:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T08:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/454178\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T08:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T08:56:15","slug":"lawmakers-call-for-netflix-and-paramount-to-commit-to-film-and-tv-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/454178\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers Call For Netflix And Paramount To Commit To Film And TV Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSen. Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-CA) and Rep. Laura Friedman<\/a> (D-CA) are calling on Netflix<\/a> and Paramount<\/a> to make \u201cconcrete commitments\u201d to preserve film and TV jobs with an acquisition of Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe two lawmakers wrote a letter<\/a> to Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, and Paramount CEO David Ellison, asking for \u201cconcrete steps will you take to preserve and expand good-paying film and
television jobs in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFurthermore, given the importance of the outcome of a WBD acquisition, said concrete commitments should be accompanied by measurable actions so that California and Hollywood continue to serve as the global center of storytelling, innovation, and creative employment,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong other things, the lawmakers are asking how the companies will work \u201cin good faith to bargain with unions representing the thousands of entertainment employees, and to growing that workforce.\u201d They also want to know how they will use AI in a way \u201cthat does not displace workers.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThey also are seeking commitments \u201cunder the current tax system to end the ongoing offshoring of production and return production to the United States.\u201d The lawmakers cited work on legislation to establish a federal film tax incentive, as production has migrated to other countries offering an array of generous breaks to lure movies and TV shows.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Justice Department is reviewing Netflix\u2019s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros.<\/a>, HBO and HBO Max, with parent Warner Bros. Discovery<\/a> planning to spin off its cable assets, like CNN and TNT, into a separate company. Paramount has been engaged in a hostile bid for all of WBD, after previous offers were rejected by the board. The DOJ also is looking at Paramount\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Schiff-Friedman letter cited the companies\u2019 plans for cost savings following the merger.
They wrote, \u201cBoth companies\u2019 proposed cuts following an acquisition are extremely concerning: Paramount is projecting to cut $6 billion in expenses over three years and Netflix is projecting to cut $2 \u2013 $3 billion. Specifically, analysts predict that many of these savings will be accomplished through significant job loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSchiff brought some of the issues up when Sarandos testifed earlier this week before the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. <\/p>\n

\n\tAt the hearing, Sarandos called the Netflix acquisition \u201cpro competitive.\u201d He said that they \u201cintend to keep these operating entities operating exactly as they are today, with independent creative groups who do that buying meaning.\u201d In written testimony, he said that Netflix is \u201cdoubling down even as much of the industry has pulled back. With this deal, we\u2019re going to increase, not reduce, production investments going forward, supported by a stronger combined business and balance sheet.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix has said that the $2 billion to $3 billion in cost savings will primarily come from administrative expenses and removing duplicative back-end tech systems, not expected to be realized until the third year after the merger.<\/p>\n

\n\tA Paramount spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. In an open letter to the UK creative community this week, Ellison committed to increased creative output, among other things. He wrote<\/a> that they \u201cbelieve the creative community and audiences are best served by greater choice\u2014not less\u2014and by a marketplace that encourages the full spectrum of filmmaking, content creation, and theatrical exhibition, not one that eliminates meaningful competition by creating a monopolistic or dominant entity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) are calling on Netflix and Paramount to make \u201cconcrete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64443,28,5109,212559,217,168491,4208,10343,5251],"class_list":{"0":"post-454178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-adam-schiff","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-electionline","11":"tag-laura-friedman","12":"tag-netflix","13":"tag-netflix-wb","14":"tag-paramount","15":"tag-warner-bros-discovery","16":"tag-warner-bros"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}