Netflix Goes All-In as Foreign Money Targets Paramount

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: Netflix Goes All-In as Foreign Money Targets Paramount
Date: February 14, 2026
Host: Ben Ferguson
Guest: Cleet Williams (Chief Global Affairs Officer, Netflix)

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Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson dives deep into the brewing battle over the future of American media, focusing on new mergers and acquisitions involving Netflix, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount, and Skydance. The conversation spotlights national security concerns, the impact on American jobs, and the influence of foreign capital in Hollywood. Guest Cleet Williams from Netflix provides inside perspective on the motivations behind Netflix's merger, its commitment to American industry, regulatory implications, and addresses conservative concerns about content and company culture.

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Main Discussion Points

1. The Netflix–Warner Brothers Discovery Deal vs. Paramount–Skydance Bid

• National Security and Economic Concerns:
  Ben frames the episode by situating recent Hollywood mergers as a matter of "national security," job protection, and potential foreign influence ([03:09]).
• Netflix’s American Expansion:
  Cleet emphasizes Netflix's rapid growth within the US, with filming in all 50 states, over 140,000 production jobs created, and $225 billion in economic output ([04:34]).
• Contrast with Foreign-Backed Bids:
  Both Ben and Cleet voice alarm at the Paramount–Skydance merger, specifically the large injection of Middle Eastern capital, which they see as a risk to US interests ([08:10]–[08:46]).

2. Economic Impact & Investing in America

• Domestic Investment Highlight:
  Cleet describes Netflix's new $1.2 billion studio at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey—a symbol of reclaiming American industrial assets for high-value creative work ([04:34]).
• Comparative Job Strategies:
  Cleet asserts that while Netflix is growing jobs, the Skydance–Paramount deal is eliminating them (e.g., 3,500 jobs recently cut), and conflates "synergies" with future job loss ([06:58]).

3. Regulatory and Geopolitical Implications

• American Dollars vs. Foreign Equity:
  Cleet asserts:
  “Netflix is an American deal with American dollars. And the Paramount deal...has more equity from the Middle east than the United States.” ([08:10])
• CFIUS Review & European Concerns:
  Foreign control would trigger CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) scrutiny and potentially run afoul of EU sensitivities, especially concerning foreign ownership of influential news channels ([08:46]).

4. Misconceptions About Netflix’s Business Model

• Netflix as Content Commissioner—not Just Producer:
  Ben raises the misconception that Netflix only produces its own content, while Cleet clarifies that Netflix outsources significant content creation, and the merger is about complementing strengths with Warner Brothers’ 100-year legacy ([09:36]–[10:06]).
• Vertical vs. Horizontal Mergers:
  Cleet distinguishes between a “vertical merger” (Netflix–Warner) and a “horizontal merger” (Paramount–Skydance), warning the latter will lead to redundant assets and job cuts, while the former expands the industry and consumer value ([10:06]).

5. Cultural & Ideological Concerns—Programming and Diversity of Viewpoint

• Conservative Skepticism:
  Ben directly addresses the widespread conservative critique that Netflix favors “left and woke type programming” and worries about viewpoint diversity if Netflix gains market power ([11:56]).
• Cleet’s Rebuttal and Personal Example:
  Cleet, identifying as a conservative and former Trump White House staffer, explains:
  “Our mission at Netflix is to entertain the world and to run a profitable business...we need to provide something for everyone all across the spectrum, whether you’re left, right, center.”
  He points to the diversity of Netflix’s offerings and references "Cobra Kai" as embodying traditional/conservative values ([12:43]).
• Free Speech Defense:
  Cleet cites the Dave Chappelle controversy to emphasize that Netflix supports content regardless of political pressure:
  “There have been times in the past where we have had folks on the left who have wanted to cancel us...and we stood up for it and we said, no, we’re not going to pull that down, we don’t censor.” ([13:35]) He also notes that Netflix is not available in China because of its stance on censorship.

6. Personal Assurance and Closing

• Conservative Leadership at Netflix:
  Ben expresses comfort knowing a fellow conservative is in a leadership role at Netflix:
  “I find that comforting to know I have an ally or a friend there that’s looking out for my interest and my family’s interests as well.” ([14:22])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Foreign Ownership Concerns:
  “Paramount has more equity from the Middle east than the United States.”
  – Cleet Williams ([08:10])

• On Job Creation:
  “We’ve tripled our workforce in the last couple of years and we are now filming in all 50 states in the United States...supported 140,000 production jobs.”
  – Cleet Williams ([04:34])

• On Netflix’s Ideological Stance:
  “Our mission at Netflix is to entertain the world and to run a profitable business...we need to provide something for everyone all across the spectrum, whether you’re left, right, center.”
  – Cleet Williams ([12:43])

• On Free Speech and Censorship:
  “We stood up for [Dave Chappelle] and we said, no, we’re not going to pull that down, we don’t censor. And look, that’s the same reason we’re not in China.”
  – Cleet Williams ([13:35])

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Key Timestamps

• [03:09] – Episode introduction, national security and Hollywood mergers context
• [04:34] – Cleet Williams on Netflix’s US investment, job creation, and new studios
• [06:58] – Discussion of foreign capital in Skydance–Paramount deal and US job losses
• [08:10] – American Finance vs. Middle Eastern Equity
• [09:36] – Misconceptions about Netflix’s content production role
• [10:06] – Vertical (Netflix–Warner) vs. Horizontal (Paramount–Skydance) mergers
• [11:56] – Conservative concerns about Netflix programming
• [12:43] – Cleet Williams on content diversity, free speech, and company values
• [14:22] – Ben’s personal comfort with conservative leadership in Netflix

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Tone and Language

The conversation is frank, nationalistic, and appeals directly to conservative listeners. Ben Ferguson positions the discussion as a matter of “America first,” while Cleet Williams underscores Netflix’s American roots, industry leadership, and respect for broad ideological diversity. Both are outspoken about the dangers of foreign influence and critical of job losses associated with non-American leadership and capital.

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Summary prepared for listeners who value concise, detailed insight into the episode’s arguments, personalities, and policy implications.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Cleet Williams]

The jobs report's amazing in certain ways because we have tremendously fewer federal employees way down now. I could have left them and added to what we did, and we would have had almost 100% employment. I could have gotten a great kick out of the fact that we're 100% employed. But we got rid of tremendous numbers of federal workers and we had some jobs where you attend. Workers for one job, 10 workers for a job that one person should be doing.

[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Good Saturday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got one big story for you, and it deals with national security. You may have not heard about the massive deal with Warner Brothers, Discovery and Netflix, also Paramount, Skydance getting involved as well. So what is behind the deal? How does it deal with national security? And what does it mean for American jobs? Putting America first. I break it all down for you. It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now. Story number one, you've heard me talking a lot about protecting American jobs and also talking about there was the big hearing in Washington that dealt with Netflix and Warner Brothers and Discovery and all of this. And I want to continue that conversation now and really dive into what you can expect moving forward and what's going to be happening. Joining me now to talk about this is Cleet Williams. He's the chief global affairs officer with Netflix. And Cleet, I appreciate you coming on to talk even more about this. I want to get into the American job aspect of this first and foremost, because I don't think people realize, number one, how many jobs are being created in this country and directly with Netflix, but also indirectly with others that are making content that you guys are then buying and that supports the development of it as well.

[Cleet Williams]

Yeah, no, thanks so much, Dan, for having me on. And obviously I'm, I'm thrilled to talk about this because this is one of the reasons I was so excited to join Netflix in the first place, because Netflix is a company that is really committed to growing investment and growing jobs in the United States. And just to give you a little bit of detail on that, you know, Netflix is a company who has, you know, we started mailing DVDs around. We got into streaming, and recently we've been getting into content. Right. It's really this classic American story, something that only could have happened in the United States. But as we've been getting into content, what we've done is we've tripled our workforce in the last couple of years and we are now filming in all 50 states in the United States. We've got a total of 1200 locations that we filmed in. And what this has done, it supported 140,000 production jobs in the country. It's supported 225 billion of economic output. And we're trying to do even more. You know, we're investing more into content as others in the industry are pulling back. And one of the really exciting stories is up in New Jersey where the Fort Monmouth base used to be. This base was closed down and now we're building a world class studio there. $1.2 billion into that economy. And so look, it's a really exciting story for what's going on at Netflix.

[Ben Ferguson]

You know, for people that again, and I go back to this is for me, America first American jobs. I also wrote an op ed@fox news.com you can grab it. They're talking about why I believe that Ronald Reagan would be in favor of this merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers because of it doing so much to keep production and American interests first and foremost. He understood the value of exporting American ideals and American movies is an amazing way to have influence all over the world. You look at the other side of this so people understand just the context that there has been a repeated hostile attempt to acquire from Paramount and Skydance. What worries me about that side is a lot of outside of the US money that can come in. I, as a, as a look, I want America to be shown in the best light. I don't want there to be outside influence. I worry about that. And you guys, to be very clear, your core is the United States of America. I want to make sure everybody understands that.

[Cleet Williams]

You know, look, that's absolutely right. And you know, I just mentioned this studio in New Jersey. What we're hoping to do with this studio in New Jersey is do a bunch of filming in the United States that would have otherwise been done in other places like the United Kingdom. And so this really is about strengthening the American industry, making sure that America remains number one in the world for production. And look, you brought out the situation with Paramount who is making the hostile bid. And I think one of the points that you raise and some of the things that you've written is that there's really a clear contrast here, right? I mean, there's the job story and the fact that we've been creating jobs and they've been cutting them. Right. They had 3 and 3500 jobs cut with their Skydance merger. Just yesterday, they announced they were going to reduce the workforce at CBS by 15%. They've identified 6 billion in synergies, which is code for job cuts. That's actually probably going to be higher because this is the largest leverage buyout in history. But, you know, speaking of the leverage buyout and speaking of the financing, here's where. Here's a big difference that I think you will find very important, which is Netflix is an American deal with American dollars.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Cleet Williams]

And the Paramount deal. Paramount has more equity from the Middle east than the United States.

[Ben Ferguson]

Hold on, say that again, because that's what that is, my biggest warning. And when I was looking at this, I was. I was one of those, full disclosure, I've been critical of Netflix in the past on certain things. I did, I did. I like or don't like you. It's a big company. That would be normal. But my big red flag here was, hold on a second. We're talking about major influence that would come into a collection, studio and production from the Middle East. I do not like that or feel comfortable with it at all.

[Cleet Williams]

No, I mean, I understand the concerns you're raising. Right. I think you've written about that very eloquently. And just the difference here, American deal with American dollars versus something that has the majority of its equity from the Middle East. And look, there are concerns about what that would do on influence and what it would do for American soft power. But I think, you know, the interesting thing that a lot of people haven't focused on is that this also causes regulatory problems for Paramount that we don't have. Right. In the US You've got the Treasury Department and their CFIUS review process, you know, which is going to have to look into whether this is, you know, problematic foreign control. You've also got the European Union, you know, who may be concerned about, you know, Middle east ownership of CNN and some of these other national networks. And so, you know, I think that's a clear contrast between these two deals.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let's also talk about some of the misconceptions. And we saw, I think some of this come out in that antitrust hearing that was in Washington, D.C. there are a lot of people that just assume that Netflix is a company that has a massive studio and you guys are creating a lot of this content in your own studios. That is not the case at all. That is exactly the reason why this, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Discovery dealers is is what you guys are wanting to do because you do want to get into that as well.

[Cleet Williams]

Yeah, that's absolutely right. And the contrast here is clear as well. You know, the Netflix deal is primarily a vertical merger. And what I mean by that is that, you know, we're proud of what we've done in the content production business in the last couple of years, but we've only been making our own stuff for around a decade. And you know, you have, you contrast that with Warner brothers, who has 100 years of production in this business, who has all that iconic intellectual property. And so this is complementary. We're going to be able to bring that into the Netflix platform. You also have this legacy studio out in Hollywood that Warner Brothers has. We're building this new world class studio in New Jersey, but we haven't had that kind of thing yet. So we're bringing that together. Then there's the theatrical distribution business, another area where we have not been active and we're going to bring that together. And so that's a vertical merger with complementary assets where we're going to be able to get more content to consumers for less. And we're going to keep all these major players and major buyers in the market. And then the Paramount deal is your classic horizontal merger with the Noah's Ark problem. You know, they're going to have two of everything, right? They already have one of those big legacy studios out in Hollywood, so they're going to have to cut one. They already have a major theatrical distribution business, so that's going to get cut and consolidated. And then look, you can also look at the news and the sports and all these other things where they're going to double up as well. And so I think, you know, if you look at these vertical mergers, which have traditionally been treated very favorably by competition authorities versus a horizontal merger which traditionally has not been. Again, I think on the regulatory front, it's pretty clear, you know, that the Netflix deal has a clearer path. And I do think that's a misconception that the other side has tried to perpetuate.

[Ben Ferguson]

Let me ask you one question. It's a concern that I and many others have had that are conservatives and that is that Netflix has, has been seen through many conservatives as is an advocate for more of the left and woke type programming without going into, you know, exact details in general, that has been a major concern. And there has been a real concern that, look, if you guys get even more powerful, bigger than what you are now, that that is going to explode in some way. And then the choice of, hey, are conservative stories or traditional stories or historically traditional, you know, context stories not going to be told because of, quote, propaganda? How would you answer and respond to that? Cuz that is a question Senator Hawley talked about at the hearing. Some of those clips people saw. I think it's a fair question to ask.

[Cleet Williams]

Now look, I appreciate you asking it and I appreciate the opportunity to, to clear up what I, what I think is a misconception here. Look, our mission at Netflix is to entertain the world and to run a profitable business. And in order to do that, you know, we need to provide something for everyone all across the spectrum, whether you're left, right, center. And look at the content we have, right? We've got action movies, we've got rom coms, we got faith based shows, we've got documentaries about the military, westerns, you name it. And look, one of my favorite shows, not one that you would traditionally think of as conservative, but I think it really is, is Cobra Kai, right? And the main character in there, Johnny Lawrence, not only does he kick butt at karate, but this is a blue collar guy who's fed up that America has gotten too soft, too politically correct. And throughout the show he pushes back on that and I think it's great. Look, I'm a conservative, I worked in the Trump White House and I'm. Look, Ben, I'm not going to deny that there are shows I don't like, right. But I can just turn those off, right. I can just put on something else because we have a lot of content on our platform. And I will say as a conservative, what I'm proud of at Netflix is that we stand up for the First Amendment and we stand up for free speech. And there have been times in the past where we have had folks on the left who have wanted to cancel us and to cancel our programming because it was offensive to them. There was a very famous example a couple years ago with Dave Chappelle made some jokes that they didn't like and we stood up for it and we said, no, we're not going to pull that down, we don't censor. And look, that's the same reason we're not in China. You know, we're not in China, we're not going to do that.

[Ben Ferguson]

Yeah, it's a great point. And we're going to keep following this. Williams, I appreciate you so much coming on Chief Global Affairs Officer with Netflix and I appreciate you answering that question the way you did. I also think it's great to know that there are people like you that, by the way, came out of the Trump White House that are now high up at Netflix. I find that comforting to know I have an ally or a friend there that's looking out for my interest and my family's interests as well. So I appreciate you coming on and talking about that. Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

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[Ben Ferguson]

You'Re listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and.

[Podcast Host]

We will see you back here on Monday morning. Wasn't that delicious? So good. Your bill, ladies. I got it. No, I got it.

[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Ben Ferguson]

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[Cleet Williams]

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[Cleet Williams]

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