Congress Takes Aim at Streaming Mergers

The Option · Jan 21, 2026 · 3m

House Judiciary Committee examines streaming antitrust — Congress held a hearing called "Full Stream Ahead" on January 7th to scrutinize the Netflix-WBD merger. The title was cute. The implications are worth understanding. In this episode of The Option, we examine: What the House Judiciary Committee's "Full Stream Ahead" hearing actually accomplished The three real functions of Congressional hearings on media mergers Why there's no bipartisan consensus on streaming antitrust enforcement How political pressure shapes DOJ and FTC regulatory priorities What this means for Netflix-WBD deal timing…