NEW YORK, Feb 3, 2026, 11:29 (ET) — Regular session
- Netflix shares dip roughly 2% amid lawmakers’ scrutiny of its proposed Warner Bros Discovery deal
- Investors are eyeing a probable shareholder vote in March alongside a rival bidder’s tender deadline set for Feb. 20
- A new headline risk emerges from a separate dispute in Germany over AI clauses in dubbing contracts
Shares of Netflix, Inc. dipped 1.9% to $81.20 late Tuesday morning, trailing a wider tech selloff as investors digested new scrutiny over its proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Warner Bros. Discovery shares edged down 0.2%, while Paramount Skydance slid 2.1%. The Invesco QQQ ETF, tracking the Nasdaq, dropped 1.1%, and the S&P 500’s SPDR ETF declined 0.5%.
Ted Sarandos will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel on Tuesday to discuss how Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal might impact streaming competition. Mike Lee, the panel’s chair and an outspoken critic since the deal was announced in December, flagged concerns in a January letter about “access to such information could enable anticompetitive behavior.” He questioned Netflix on whether it has obtained sensitive data from Warner. (Reuters)
The timing is crucial as the deal shifts into a more procedural stage. Warner Bros Discovery is expected to hold a shareholder vote in March, although no specific date has been set. The company said it will schedule the vote once its preliminary proxy filing—the document used to request shareholder approval—is finalized. If shareholders reject the deal, Paramount Skydance could continue its push with a $108.4 billion hostile bid, including a tender offer currently set to expire on Feb. 20. (Reuters)
Traders see the hearing less as a trigger for an immediate rule change and more as a signal of the political climate. The Senate won’t be able to stop the deal outright, but intense questioning could ratchet up the political pressure, making approval a tougher slog. That could drag out the review process, leaving the stock driven by headlines instead of earnings results.
Europe faced another headline blow. In Berlin, German voice actors initiated a grassroots boycott against Netflix over a contract clause letting the streamer use their recordings for AI training, a VDS spokesperson told Reuters. Netflix responded with a letter, inviting the group to an informal chat. VDS chair Anna-Sophia Lumpe said the company hinted it might switch to subtitles if the dubbing boycott holds. (Reuters)
Though minor compared to an $82.7 billion merger review, the dispute highlights the operational and legal hurdles Netflix faces as it expands further into international production and localization—fields where regulation, labor laws, and copyright issues evolve rapidly.
The bigger risk, though, lies with regulators and the approval process. U.S. and European competition authorities might drag their feet, demand concessions, or block the deal entirely. If the battle drags on, Netflix could be stuck with uncertainty, as competitors and potential buyers continue to probe the limits.
The next big event is coming up: the Senate antitrust subcommittee hearing starts at 2:30 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Sarandos and Bruce Campbell are set to testify. (Senate Judiciary Committee)
