Lawmakers Call For “Impartial” DOJ Probe of Fox’s $22 Billion Roku Deal

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Lawmakers have written to the Department of Justice calling for an “impartial” review of Fox Corp.’s proposed $22 billion merger with Roku amid antitrust and backroom dealmaking concerns.

“In order to uphold the Antitrust Division’s responsibility to protect competition and consumers, we urge DOJ to closely scrutinize the proposed Fox-Roku deal under antitrust law and seek your commitment that the review will be conducted free from political interference and in an impartial fashion,” a July 16 letter to Stanley E. Woodward, associate attorney general in the DOJ’s antitrust division, stated.

“When DOJ makes decisions based on political favoritism rather than the facts and the law, costs go up for American families,” the letter added.

Democratic politicians, led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Representative Becca Balint, raised concerns that “the Department may not give this transaction the close review it deserves. We are particularly alarmed that you advised federal antitrust law enforcers that you want to avoid antitrust trials.”

Fox‘s $22 billion deal for Roku and its streaming platform will dramatically change the relationship the Lachlan Murdoch-led media giant has with other players in the TV ecosystem. Despite intense competition from the likes of Google, Amazon and Apple, Roku has emerged as a dominant streaming platform, effectively the gateway to TV.

“A merger between Fox and Roku may also give the combined Fox-Roku entity the incentive to preference and steer viewers to Fox content for the 100 million Roku households, disadvantaging Fox competitors and limiting consumer choice,” the lawmakers added.

Their concerns extended to claims of backroom dealmaking with lobbyists by Woodward amid increased entertainment industry consolidation with Disney taking a controlling stake in Fubo as it merged with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business, and Paramount combining with Skydance and more recently the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger seeking final regulatory approvals.

“Reporting has recently suggested that you told the attorneys in charge of enforcing federal antitrust laws that you prefer they not take cases to trial, and instead resolve issues through settlements. We are concerned that settlements invite opportunities for more backroom deals like the ones we have seen during this administration, and will weaken enforcers’ ability to go after antitrust violations in order to lower prices for American families,” the July 16 letter stated.

“Because of the cloud of corruption surrounding the Trump administration and its apparent use of the merger review system to extract political favors, the review of the Fox-Roku deal must be diligent and scrupulously impartial. We request assurances that you will not only closely review the proposed deal under antitrust law, but that decisions made regarding this merger will be based on the facts and the law, and will not be corrupted by influence-peddling or political favoritism,” the lawmakers added.

The full text of the letter is below: