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Why It Matters A new Netflix lobbying disclosure reveals the streaming giant retained a specialized antitrust firm as its proposed $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery draws scrutiny from both parties.**
Netflix is navigating one of the most consequential regulatory moments in its history. The company's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery — which would combine two of the top four global streaming services — triggered a DOJ second request, a Senate Judiciary antitrust hearing, and bipartisan congressional opposition. A legislative win would mean either a DOJ clearance or a negotiated settlement that allows the deal to close. Netflix's strategy appears to involve engaging directly with the congressional antitrust apparatus through a lobbyist with deep roots in that very world. In the end, Netflix withdrew its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
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By the Numbers: Netflix Q1 2026 Lobbying
The First Quarter 2026 Netflix lobbying disclosure shows the company paid Bloom Strategic Counsel PLLC $60,000 for lobbying services. This is one of several simultaneous disclosures Netflix files each quarter across multiple firms.
Netflix's broader lobbying operation in the prior year included:
- In-house lobbying via Netflix Inc. directly — ranging from $750,000 to $800,000 per quarter
- Monument Advocacy — active across all four quarters of 2025 at $50,000 per quarter
- Mehlman Consulting Inc. — active throughout 2025 at $50,000 per quarter, with the largest lobbyist roster of any outside firm
- Miller & Chevalier Chartered — focused exclusively on corporate and international tax issues, $50,000 per quarter
- Ballard Partners LLC — active from the first through third quarters of 2025 at $50,000 per quarter
- Avōq LLC — $30,000 in the last quarter of 2025
Bloom Strategic Counsel, S-3 Group LLC, and Kressin Powers LLC all filed new registrations in early 2026 — representing an expansion of Netflix's outside lobbying network heading into the first quarter. Netflix is not a new entrant to lobbying. According to OpenSecrets, the company spent $2.3 million lobbying in 2025 alone — a record pace.
The sole lobbyist listed on the Bloom Strategic Counsel filing is Seth Bloom, the firm's principal. Bloom spent approximately nine years on Capitol Hill, serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee as General Counsel and on the Senate Special Committee on Aging as Senior Counsel — both under Democratic majority leadership during the 107th through 112th Congresses. His firm's prior client roster includes Amazon, Apple, Comcast, DoorDash, and Molson Coors — nearly all engaged on antitrust and competition matters.
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The Agenda
The first quarter 2026 Netflix lobbying disclosure filed by Bloom Strategic Counsel lists no specific issues or legislation in its disclosure. However, across Netflix's broader lobbying operation over the prior year, the company has disclosed lobbying on a range of issues, including:
- Universal Service Fund reform
- U.S. tariff and trade policy
- Corporate and international tax reform, including proposals affecting Internal Revenue Code Section 181
- Federal data privacy legislation
- Children's data privacy and kids' online safety
- Telecommunications and broadband policy
- Artificial intelligence regulation
- Digital trade barriers, including foreign streaming levies
- Digital replicas
- Competition policy
Given Bloom Strategic Counsel's exclusive focus on antitrust and competition law — and the firm's public reporting as Netflix's antitrust counsel for the Warner Bros. deal — the engagement could relate to competition policy matters, though the filing itself does not confirm this.
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Broader Context
The congressional lobbying filing lands at a moment of acute regulatory pressure for Netflix.
On December 5, 2025, Netflix announced a cash-and-stock deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery at a total enterprise value of approximately $82.7 billion. The deal would have combined Netflix's 300-million-plus subscriber base with Warner Bros.' HBO Max, DC Studios, and extensive content library.
Congressional reaction was immediate and bipartisan. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) called it *"a textbook horizontal antitrust problem."* Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) described it as *"an anti-monopoly nightmare."* Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) wrote to the DOJ urging a potential *"lawsuit to block it."*
On January 22, 2026, the DOJ issued a formal second request for information from both companies — triggering an in-depth antitrust review.
On February 3, 2026, the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee held a hearing on the deal. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos testified directly. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) grilled Sarandos on content and secured commitments on domestic production jobs and union labor. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the subcommittee chair, publicly questioned the relevant antitrust market definition in real time.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust also convened a dedicated hearing titled *"Full Stream Ahead: Competition and Consumer Choice in Digital Streaming."* At that hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) stated on the record: *"Both companies [Netflix and Paramount] are already lobbying the White House right now."* Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) warned that the combined entity could hold *"over 30 percent of the streaming market"* and could *"raise subscription prices"* and *"threaten jobs."*
On the international front, Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) introduced legislation to launch a Section 301 investigation into Canada's Online Streaming Act, which imposes financial levies on U.S. streaming companies operating in Canada. A bipartisan letter from 27 Ways and Means Committee members warned the law *"could cost American companies up to $7 billion by 2030."*
In February of 2026, Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets to match a revised bid by Paramount Skydance. The WBD board said it valued Paramount’s $31-per-share offer to be superior to an existing deal with Netflix.
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Competitive Landscape
Netflix is not alone in lobbying on the issues that animate its current government relations activity. Across its broader disclosed lobbying operation, Netflix has engaged firms alongside a wide array of industry participants active on the same terrain.
Miller & Chevalier — Netflix's tax lobbying firm — represents numerous corporate clients on international tax reform and TCJA-related proposals. Monument Advocacy and Mehlman Consulting both cover data privacy and telecommunications issues where Netflix competes for legislative outcomes alongside major tech and media companies. On the Warner Bros. deal specifically, Paramount simultaneously pursued a competing bid for Warner Bros. Discovery assets. This created a parallel lobbying dynamic in which two major streamers were each seeking regulatory favor for the same target.
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The Bottom Line
The Netflix lobbying disclosure filed by Bloom Strategic Counsel for the first quarter of 2026 reflects a company that has materially expanded its outside lobbying network at a moment of significant regulatory and legislative exposure. The addition of Seth Bloom — a specialist in antitrust and competition law with Senate Judiciary Committee experience — fits the profile of a company managing a high-stakes merger review. That said Netflix eventually was outbid by Paramount to secure Warner Bros Disscovery.
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