FCC chief tells CNBC WBD-Paramount merger deal is ‘cleaner’ than Netflix's, will be approved 'quickly'

In this article WBD PSKY NFLX Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 0:47 00:47 FCC Chair: Paramount deal for WBD is a lot 'cleaner' Squawk Box Europe FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has told CNBC that Paramount's bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery is "cleaner" than Netflix's , adding he expected it to be approved "pretty quickly." "There's a lot of concerns when Netflix was the potential buyer there," Carr said on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday. "That particular combination raised a lot of competition concerns." Paramount Skydance put in a revised offer to buy the entirety of WBD last week at $31 per share, up from $30 per share, which the WBD board deemed superior to an existing Netflix proposal. Netflix had been set to buy the media giant's studio and streaming businesses for $27.75 per share, but said this was "no longer financially attractive" in light of Paramount's offer. Carr spoke with CNBC's Arjun Kharpal in a wide-ranging discussion about the WBD-Paramount merger , which requires regulators' signoff. Carr told CNBC that Netflix "would have a very difficult path" getting regulatory approval, adding that Paramount's was "a lot cleaner, does not raise at all the same types of concerns." "I think there's some real consumer benefits that can emerge from it," he added. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testifies during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission," in Rayburn building on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Both deals raised antitrust questions around the U.S. theatrical industry, prompting concerns over potential job losses or smaller film slates in Hollywood. Netflix's proposed combination also spurred questions around streaming dominance , as it would have brought together two of the most popular streaming services in Netflix and WBD's HBO Max. On Monday, Para...