In a Thursday morning interview with CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked for his thoughts on the battle being waged for Warner Bros. Like everyone else, Iger is watching from the sidelines — but unlike most, he’s orchestrated major studio mergers himself.
Bob Iger Weighs In With Concerns Over Netflix “Pricing Leverage Over The Consumer” If Streamer Snags Warner Bros. Streaming & Studio Assets https://t.co/gFqxU7rEm2
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) December 11, 2025
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Warner Bros. president and CEO David Zaslav stunned Hollywood late last week when he announced that the board had accepted an $82.7 billion buyout proposal from Netflix. Tensions escalated the following Monday when Paramount CEO David Ellison took his company’s $108 billion offer directly to Warner Bros. shareholders.
While it seems that everyone in Hollywood, Washington, and on Wall Street is taking sides, Iger is remaining somewhat aloof. Speaking on behalf of Disney, Iger said, “We haven’t determined whether we’ll take a position or not.”
However, when speaking for himself, a personal preference nearly came through.
Consumer Protections
Iger, who in the past has expressed interest in running for office — including a 2016 presidential run — told CNBC how thinks the government should handle the situation.
“If I were a regulator looking at this combination, I’d look at a few things,” he said. “First of all, I would look at what the impact is on the consumer.”
Bob Iger | 2019 Disney Legends Awards Ceremony | D23 EXPO 2019. Photo Credit: nagi usano from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Warner Bros. can accept a buyout offer from whatever entity offers shareholders the greatest value. But before any merger can officially take place, it must first pass governmental regulatory and anti-trust scrutiny. Ideally, this is to protect consumers. It’s a process with which Iger is intimately familiar, as he oversaw the 2017 merger between Disney and 20th Century Fox.
“Will one company end up with pricing leverage that might be considered a negative or damaging to the consumer, and with a significant amount of streaming subscriptions across the world? Does that ultimately give Netflix pricing leverage over the consumer, that it might not necessarily be healthy?” Iger asked.
His rhetorical questions had many online calling Iger a hypocrite. As part of the Fox acquisition, Disney took over the streaming service Hulu. And since the launch of Disney+ and its integration of Hulu, subscription fees have only gone up.
I can see your games, Bob. 😂 pic.twitter.com/YOABSJu9c4
— anonymouscrimson (@DibboKumar) December 11, 2025
However, Iger’s concern is one shared by Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
I’ve warned that a Warner Bros. merger could mean higher prices.
But don’t take it from me. The CEO of @Disney just said Netflix buying up Warner Bros. could increase Netflix’s “pricing leverage” over consumers.
Translation: Higher prices for you to watch your favorite shows. https://t.co/NspeQDAs16
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) December 11, 2025
Setting that aside, Iger also said regulators need to think about how a studio merger could affect movie theaters.
Concern for Movie Theaters
“I’d look at what the impact might be on what I’ll call the creative community,” Iger said, specifically emphasizing the role of movie theaters.
One of the biggest concerns about Netflix taking Warner Bros. is how the new owners will handle theatrical releases. Netflix, which has traditionally avoided putting its movies in theaters except to earn awards considerations, has promised to honor all of Warner Bros. existing contracts.
A graphic showing the Netflix and Warner Bros. Logos – Netflix
However, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has also said that long exclusive windows where movies are only available in theaters isn’t “consumer-friendly.” It’s an attitude that has led to fears that Netflix will accelerate the decline of movie theaters.
Iger says that Disney has been “mindful of protecting the health of that business.” So even though he didn’t say one way or the other whether he hopes the Netflix deal goes through, or if he’d prefer Paramount to succeed in its hostile takeover, Iger’s comments suggest he hopes that whoever wins will support theaters.
Conclusion
In a bit of irony, Iger’s CNBC interview came shortly after Bloomberg revealed Netflix had seriously considered an attempt to buy Disney. Depending on the timing, Iger might have found himself in Zaslav’s position.
WBD CEO David Zaslav Speaks at a New York Times event – YouTube, New York Times Events
Instead, he — along with everyone else — can simply watch the other media titans fight it out. “It’s nice to be an observer and not a participant in this,” he said.
How do you feel about Bob Iger and his insight into the Warner Bros. sale? Sound off on social media and let us know!
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I abhor that guy. Satanic. The problem we have, now, is, Hollywood is a cartel. We went from around 50 successful studios to around 5 or so successful ones, and even those are becoming unprofitable over time, despite holding much of the entire world’s cinemas captive. It boggles the mind how much it cost them to virtue signal with woke insanity, which continues apace.
The villain. God I abhor him.
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