These past months I have been talking about the imminent sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to either Netflix or Paramount. This merger will be a disaster for the movie industry and for consumers. I’m not alone in my protest. Several of the filmmaking unions, namely the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, as well as Cinema United, which represents movie theaters, have warned that the Warner Bros. sale is an existential threat to the future of the entire United States film industry.
Deadline reports that the US Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition, and Consumer Rights is holding a hearing on the Warner Bros. sale, scheduled for February 3. This is the time to contact your representatives especially the members of this committee.
Here is contact information for the committee members. You do not have to be one of their constituents to contact these senators about their committee work.
In some cases, these email forms will ask for you to select a topic. Select or type “antitrust.”
363 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-5444
381 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-6154
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: -202-224-6342
404 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-5721
416 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-5744
SR-387 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20002Office Phone: 202-224-3041
Cory Booker, Ranking Member (NJ)
306 Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-3224
425 Dirksen Senate Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-3244
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: (202) 224-2823
115 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-4242
Hart Senate Office Building #112
Washington, D.C. 20510Office Phone: 202-224-3841
Here is a sample letter you can use to contact government officials and anyone else who might be influential in stopping the Warner Bros. Discovery sale.
If you send a physical letter, address it to “The Honorable [Full Name]” and use the greeting “Dear {Title Name].”
Dear [TITLE NAME],
I’m writing to you regarding the possible sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to either Netflix or Paramount. This deal would be a disaster for consumers, for workers, and for the film and television industry and it should be stopped.
The sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix or Paramount will result in mass layoffs, cripple the exhibition industry, and create a monopoly that will hurt workers and consumers. Filmmakers will have fewer options to get their projects financed or distributed. Theaters will have no leverage to negotiate exhibition deals. Consumers will suffer from reduced competition between streaming services.
We need the federal government to protect the film industry and the public from this unnecessary, monopolistic, and illegal merger.
I hope you will lend your efforts to stop the Warner Bros. sale to any major media company.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
Edit the above message as necessary but please remember to be concise, impassioned, and respectful. We need to persuade, not to bully.