Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery on competition and consumer prices in the UK streaming market, on investment in UK film and TV productions, and on the viability of the UK cinema sector.

The Government is aware that Netflix has submitted a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets as part of an ongoing acquisition process. As the bidding process is ongoing and no transaction has been finalised, it would not be appropriate to provide comment further on this individual case.

As set out in our Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government recognises that convergence in the TV and streaming market is leading to greater consolidation as companies seek economies of scale. Should any proposed transaction progress, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be responsible for examining implications for competition and consumers. The Government has committed to asking the CMA, working with Ofcom, to set out how changes in the sector could be taken into account as part of any future assessment of the television and advertising markets.