Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos on Tuesday tried to reassure lawmakers in the Senate that bigger can be better.
Instead, he ended up spending much of his time before the Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights pushing back against accusations from Republican senators that the streamer is politically biased.
“Netflix has no political agenda of any kind,” Sarandos said during a hearing about the streaming giant’s $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. and HBO.
The deal has been under scrutiny from critics on both sides of the aisle since it was announced in December. During the hearing, Democrats including California Sen. Adam Schiff raised concerns that the deal could mean fewer jobs and less choice for consumers, while Republicans such as Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt grilled the executive over what he described as the streamer’s “overwhelming woke” programming, and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley accused the streamer of having content that “promotes a transgender ideology.”
Netflix has “a great deal of programming on Netflix for all, left, right and center,” Sarandos said.
The executive also sought to assure Democratic lawmakers that the merger would deliver value to consumers and “create more economic growth” in the U.S.