Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio, Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: It's balance of power on Bloomberg TV and Radio. I'm
Speaker 2: Joe Matthew. Thanks for joining us on the Friday edition.
Speaker 2: After a month long battle for Warner Brothers, Paramount has
Speaker 2: officially outbid Netflix by agreeing to pay one hundred eleven
Speaker 2: billion dollars for the Hollywood studio and paying Netflix for
Speaker 2: the two point eight billion dollar breakup feed It terminate
Speaker 2: its initial merger agreement just a short time ago. The
Speaker 2: merger raising concerns about market consolidation, of course, job losses.
Speaker 3: You've heard about it on Bloomberg.
Speaker 2: It's still pending regulatory approval, with Paramount chief David Ellison
Speaker 2: already asked to testify before Congress next week, as Democratic
Speaker 2: Senator Corey Booker announces a probe into the potential Paramount
Speaker 2: Warner Brothers merger, and Booker is not the only one,
Speaker 2: with California's Attorney General Rob Bonto warning Paramount's WBT takeover
Speaker 2: is not a done deal yet, vowing a vigorous investigation
Speaker 2: and he's with us right now for more. Attorney General,
Speaker 2: is this deal not over? What are you looking at?
Speaker 1: Not a done deal? The regulatory process still needs to
Speaker 1: be completed. There are hurdles there that have not been
Speaker 1: traversed yet by this proposed deal, and we have a
Speaker 1: job to do and we're going to do it. We
Speaker 1: have an investigation. We're looking at the deal. We're looking
Speaker 1: at its potential anti competitive impacts, and we know that
Speaker 1: corporate consolidation tends to increase prices, lower wages, lower competition,
Speaker 1: lower quality, and limit choice. So we're going to take
Speaker 1: a close look at that, as is our job, and
Speaker 1: make an independent assessment based on the law and the facts.
Speaker 2: I suspect that's an investigation that could take some time.
Speaker 2: This is a massive and sprawling deal with a lot
Speaker 2: of properties. Attorney General. The critics say the problem with
Speaker 2: this deal, and those who favored the idea of Netflix
Speaker 2: buying it, is that this takes an entire movie studio
Speaker 2: off the table. Is that how you're looking at this
Speaker 2: and what would that mean for California's economy?
Speaker 1: Well, one of the we are looking at that for sure.
Speaker 1: One of the first questions is what is the appropriate
Speaker 1: market at issues the market definition, and one is studio.
Speaker 1: You know it will be a studio market consolidation. There's
Speaker 1: also a streaming service market consolidation here. So there's a
Speaker 1: couple of different markets at issue, and you know, California
Speaker 1: is the home of Hollywood, with the fourth largest economy
Speaker 1: in the world. What could this merger should it go
Speaker 1: through and be approved and get through the regulatory process,
Speaker 1: mean it could mean less choices for consumers, higher prices
Speaker 1: for consumers, a less robust creative output and set of processes.
Speaker 1: It could mean, you know, fewer choices and lower quality.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot at stake here for the forty
Speaker 1: million Californians. But these companies, they're so large, there's going
Speaker 1: to be impacts nationwide and worldwide as well.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: So of course, not just studios, not just streaming services,
Speaker 2: it's also news.
Speaker 3: And you start to talking about.
Speaker 2: Information on public areas in the case of CBS or
Speaker 2: otherwise on cable with CNN, do you worry about consolidation
Speaker 2: in that business? Do you need promises that that would
Speaker 2: not take place?
Speaker 1: I do worry about that. I think we all are
Speaker 1: worried about that and should be worried about that. We've
Speaker 1: seen what's happened to our independent, objective news that we
Speaker 1: so value, and we take steps to protect that. So
Speaker 1: that is an important area that we're looking at among
Speaker 1: the many other broader areas, and we haven't gotten ahead
Speaker 1: of ourselves as to what the potential remedy is or
Speaker 1: conditions or you know, whether we think there's no way
Speaker 1: that there could be a set of conditions or remedies,
Speaker 1: or maybe we like it exactly the way it is,
Speaker 1: so we're not prejudging it. But we're looking closely as
Speaker 1: we should, as is our duty and obligation.
Speaker 2: I want to move on to some other topics, but
Speaker 2: do you have a sense of how long it'll take
Speaker 2: before you make that determination?
Speaker 1: Because the two companies, Paramount and Warner Brothers are moving
Speaker 1: so quickly, we're going to have to take some action
Speaker 1: at least to maintain the status quo soon, if that's
Speaker 1: what we decide we need to do, and then we'll
Speaker 1: continue the ongoing investigative process and any other action to follow.
Speaker 1: But we can't let this get too far without some action,
Speaker 1: So you'll probably see something sooner than later.
Speaker 2: Weeks, not months, correct, Great Attorney General, I want to
Speaker 2: ask you about tariffs.
Speaker 3: It was one week ago today.
Speaker 2: Kind of hard to believe that the Supreme Court ruled
Speaker 2: to strike down the President's tariff regime. He's of course
Speaker 2: taken some series of actions since then to try to
Speaker 2: reinstate across the board global tariffs, and he talked about
Speaker 2: this at his State of the Union address this week.
Speaker 3: Let's listen.
Speaker 4: They're a little more complex, but they're actually probably better.
Speaker 4: Congressional action will not be necessary.
Speaker 1: It's already time tested.
Speaker 4: And approved, and as time goes by, I believe the
Speaker 4: tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in in
Speaker 4: the past, substantially replaced the modern day system of income tax.
Speaker 2: Of course, that was a loaded statement on its own.
Speaker 2: Attorney General, you called it a tremendous win the way
Speaker 2: the Supreme Court ruled. But if the President is following
Speaker 2: up with three zero one or some other mechanism to
Speaker 2: put more tariffs in place around the world, how does
Speaker 2: anything change.
Speaker 1: Well, let me first say I expected the US Supreme
Speaker 1: Court to decide almost exactly the way they did, having
Speaker 1: been at the argument for the US Supreme Court that
Speaker 1: you know the six' to three decision of the, majority
Speaker 1: as well as the reasons it was basically tracked the
Speaker 1: reasons we advanced in our briefing to THE Us Supreme.
Speaker 1: Court of, Course trump is absolutely dead, set even after
Speaker 1: suffering this embarrassing loss on his centerpiece economic, policy to
Speaker 1: continue to try to raise prices For, americans. Unfortunately and
Speaker 1: so our role here is to see if his current
Speaker 1: tariffs are lawful or. Not and we're. Looking we're looking
Speaker 1: with other states. Concerned they are global tariffs that he
Speaker 1: has imposed based on a statute for which it does
Speaker 1: not necessarily appear that he's met their. Requirements there are
Speaker 1: requirements before you can impose those those. Tariffs there needs
Speaker 1: to be a balance of payments. Deficit there's also limits
Speaker 1: about how, long how high they can be the tariffs,
Speaker 1: themselves and how long their duration can. Last so there
Speaker 1: are limits set By. Congress and right now we have
Speaker 1: some major red flags that have been raised around whether
Speaker 1: those requirements are being met.
Speaker 3: Here, well i'll say you it's been pretty.
Speaker 2: Amazing we're going to have to get some more Lawyers attorney.
Speaker 3: General since the, ruling.
Speaker 2: More than one hundred companies of file new lawsuits to
Speaker 2: try to get refunds.
Speaker 3: Here AND i mean these are some big.
Speaker 2: Names you already knew About, costco you Had, FedEx Dice
Speaker 2: In Dollar, General, bousha Lom, Brooks. Brothers this is quite the,
Speaker 2: list knowing that the justices were silent on. Refunds is
Speaker 2: this what we're going to do for the next three.
Speaker 1: YEARS i, mean it should be done quickly and. Expeditiously
Speaker 1: trump unlawfully raised costs for these, companies and these costs
Speaker 1: were passed on To. Americans they deserve a refund with, interest,
Speaker 1: period full. Stop you should look it to them as
Speaker 1: soon as. Possible and you, know he shouldn't fight it in.
Speaker 1: Court he was deemed to be wrong by the highest
Speaker 1: court in the, land a court where he appointed three.
Speaker 1: Justices two of those justices where in the majority opinion against,
Speaker 1: him because they're following the, law and because he's done
Speaker 1: something so clearly. Unlawful the authority he cited gave him
Speaker 1: no right to impose any. Teriffs they have never that
Speaker 1: authority never used the word tariffs in its statutory, language
Speaker 1: and it was never used in nearly its fifty year
Speaker 1: existence to impose tariffs. Before, so, yeah he did something.
Speaker 1: Unlawfully he did something. Wrong he victimized these Companies americans
Speaker 1: by raising. Prices he should make it right by providing
Speaker 1: perstitution and refunds.
Speaker 2: Immediately, Well i'll tell you we'd like to stay in
Speaker 2: touch with you on both of these. Issues come back
Speaker 2: and talk to, us and you decide what to do
Speaker 2: With Warner. Brothers Attorney General Rob, Bonta. California we thank
Speaker 2: you for the insights