Verdict with Ted Cruz - February 03, 2026


BONUS POD： Why the Netflix–Warner Bros Merger Is a Vote for American Jobs & Freedom

Topics
merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery
Hosted by
Ted Cruz
Mentioned
Ronald Reagan Ben Ferguson Kristi Noem Donald Trump Tom Cruise Bitcoin
Very Short Shutdown, Multi-Million-Dollar Detransitioner Lawsuit & Trump Pulls out of 66 UN Agencies Islamist Terrorists Tipping Point in Iran & Netflix Trying to Buy Warner Brothers

Episode Stats


Length

12 minutes

Words per minute

156.62

Word count

2,033

Sentence count

214

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

6

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

A major hearing in Washington, D.C. deals with Netflix and Warner Brothers and the proposed merger, and it is a hearing about jobs, national security, and standing up to China. We have all the details for you.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.920 Christy Noem just announced that you're deploying body cameras to Minneapolis.
00:00:08.860 What's your thinking behind this decision, and do you want to see this?
00:00:11.640 Well, it wasn't my decision.
00:00:13.000 I leave it to her.
00:00:15.100 They generally tend to be good for law enforcement
00:00:17.300 because people can't lie about what's happening.
00:00:19.660 So it's generally speaking, I think, 80% good for law enforcement.
00:00:23.520 But if she wants to do that, I'm okay with it.
00:00:26.320 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:30.580 Good Tuesday morning.
00:00:31.620 It's nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:00:34.580 And we've got one big story for you.
00:00:36.720 A major hearing in Washington, D.C.
00:00:39.840 It deals with Netflix and Warner Brothers and the merger.
00:00:43.100 And it is a hearing about jobs, national security, and standing up to China. 0.88
00:00:48.860 And we have all the details for you.
00:00:51.000 Can you buy real Bitcoin in your retirement account?
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00:01:10.500 That's BitcoinIra.com slash Ben.
00:01:14.440 Or call 866-679-7871.
00:01:21.040 That's 866-679-7871.
00:01:25.780 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:01:29.380 Story number one.
00:01:30.580 I wrote a book years ago.
00:01:32.580 And after that, I stopped writing for a very long time.
00:01:35.840 But this week, I decided to write an op-ed that you can read on FoxNews.com.
00:01:41.320 I'm also going to post the link up on social media.
00:01:44.660 So you can follow me on XBenFergusonShow or on Instagram, BenFergusonPodcast.
00:01:49.900 And you can read the entire article.
00:01:51.780 Now, what made me decide to write an article is a major issue.
00:01:55.440 One of importance.
00:01:56.780 One that Ronald Reagan understood.
00:01:58.780 And that is, America needs to have dominance in the world when it comes to what we're putting out.
00:02:04.320 Yes, I'm talking about movies.
00:02:05.840 You may remember that Donald Trump also understood this about the importance of television and exporting what America and freedom actually looks like.
00:02:15.420 We also have other adversaries around the world that want nothing more than to silence American movies and put their propaganda everywhere.
00:02:24.580 The biggest person that's looking to do this is China.
00:02:27.640 They're coming after our kids to the point where they had to sell TikTok to American ownership.
00:02:32.880 They understand the value of silencing and censoring different things and people.
00:02:38.600 And that is exactly why this hearing in Washington, D.C. today is vitally important.
00:02:45.020 And it deals with a merger.
00:02:46.640 Now, I'm going to read for you the op-ed that I have put together and give you a little bit of commentary throughout.
00:02:52.560 But I hope that all of you will take the op-ed and this show and share it wherever you can.
00:02:57.980 Because this hearing actually deals with national security, putting America first and exporting freedom of speech and freedom through the arts to the rest of the world.
00:03:09.400 Today in Washington, a critical hearing will help decide the future of America's entertainment industry and America's influence abroad.
00:03:17.820 The question before lawmakers is simple but consequential.
00:03:21.360 Will the United States strengthen its own creative companies or weaken them just as foreign adversaries use media, culture, and capital to shape global narratives?
00:03:33.860 At the center of the debate is a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery.
00:03:39.200 This should not be treated as just another corporate deal.
00:03:41.980 That's why I'm talking about it right now, by the way, on this show.
00:03:44.540 It directly affects American jobs, it directly affects American movie making, and it directly affects U.S. national security.
00:03:53.480 Let me explain why.
00:03:54.660 For more than a century, American films and television have carried our values around the world of freedom, creativity, open expression.
00:04:04.580 The cultural influences have been one of America's greatest strategic advantages.
00:04:10.280 And today, I would say that is under real threat.
00:04:13.220 The entertainment industry supports hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs.
00:04:19.100 This includes writers and actors, camera crews, editors, visual effects artists, set builders, marketers, and engineers.
00:04:27.340 And then, don't even count all the people behind the scenes to get hired for social media and things like that.
00:04:32.460 Now, I care about these jobs because I work with these people each and every day,
00:04:36.580 and I understand how important it is to keep those jobs in America.
00:04:40.180 These are also middle-class jobs.
00:04:42.440 I'll give you a great example.
00:04:43.980 Today, I'm going to basically help employ a team of 15 people.
00:04:48.620 Why?
00:04:49.220 Because of me doing what I'm doing right now.
00:04:51.560 There are cameramen, makeup artists, there are editors, there are producers.
00:04:56.140 All of these people have jobs right now because of the entertainment industry.
00:05:00.680 Why on earth would I want to turn that over to a foreign country? 1.00
00:05:03.680 Not only is it about that, but it's also about building the economies in different states, all right?
00:05:09.680 These jobs are spread all over the country.
00:05:12.180 I'm doing this right now for you from Texas.
00:05:14.660 You've got states like California and Georgia, New Mexico, and New Jersey that are all growing in this area.
00:05:20.640 We know about movies that are made in Georgia, for example.
00:05:23.300 There's a lot of people that are listening right now.
00:05:25.900 Where you live, there is a thriving industry.
00:05:28.160 And if you think this is, like, theoretical, you're wrong.
00:05:31.280 Netflix recently committed $1 billion to build a new production studio at the former Fort Monmouth Army Base in New Jersey.
00:05:41.500 A project that is expected to create, you ready for this, more than 5,000 high-paying American jobs.
00:05:48.120 Now, that doesn't even count all the jobs that come because of what is produced there and all the support for when those jobs wrap up and the movies or the content is made available to all of us.
00:06:00.300 You understand there's a snowball effect here.
00:06:03.040 That investment turns a former military base into an engine of American production, innovation, and employment.
00:06:09.940 And it only happens when companies have the scale and the stability to invest long-term because this is big money we're talking about here.
00:06:17.560 Streaming, however, is capital-intensive as well.
00:06:21.220 When companies are weakened or fragmented, that's when I get worried, right?
00:06:24.820 Because production's slow, opportunities shrink.
00:06:27.800 That's when the layoffs happen. 0.84
00:06:29.840 Scale brings stability.
00:06:31.360 Stability protects and creates more American jobs.
00:06:34.480 This is a no-brainer for me.
00:06:35.940 Now, a combined Netflix and Warner Brothers discovery would create not only a stronger but a more resilient American company.
00:06:45.240 That's me and my ideals as an American-first guy.
00:06:48.420 And it would create an American company able to invest consistently in one thing that matters the most to me, U.S. production instead of foreign production.
00:06:57.040 That means more projects made here at home and more investments like the military base that was just bought.
00:07:04.360 That is amazing for American job.
00:07:07.400 It is—this is all about protecting what I say is so important to us, our secret weapon.
00:07:13.900 Our influence around the world through TV, film, and content is massive, all right?
00:07:19.240 I look at my podcast, and it's incredible how many people download it in foreign countries.
00:07:24.480 It's unbelievable the reach that you can have when you create things here.
00:07:28.660 This is the reason why I say it is a strategic national asset.
00:07:33.980 Let me explain why more.
00:07:35.380 American movies—and I'm going back to my op-ed—and television reach more people globally than any government program or diplomatic initiative.
00:07:43.660 They literally shape how the world views the United States of America.
00:07:46.980 And it serves a powerful counterweight to authoritarian propaganda and regimes around the world.
00:07:52.840 Now, on the other side of this is China. 0.82
00:07:55.000 We all know how much influence China wants to have on our lives. 1.00
00:07:58.400 Go back to what just happened with TikTok, right?
00:08:00.700 You're terrified of what could happen with TikTok because TikTok being owned by China and China hating America and trying to have influence can change the algorithms and put out propaganda to undermine America. 0.87
00:08:12.120 We knew that.
00:08:12.700 That's part of the reason why the forced sell to American assets was so vitally important for a national security standpoint.
00:08:19.160 Now, China understands this.
00:08:20.720 That's why they tightly control media at home.
00:08:25.180 And they heavily invest in state-backed platforms abroad because they want foreign influence.
00:08:30.160 We've already seen how that censorship works.
00:08:32.500 I'll give you a great example.
00:08:33.800 Top Gun Maverick.
00:08:35.040 Loved the movie.
00:08:36.240 The film was a massive global success, bringing billions of dollars.
00:08:40.860 Made in America.
00:08:41.940 And guess who refused to show it?
00:08:43.900 China.
00:08:44.580 China refused to allow it to be shown in its theaters.
00:08:47.620 Why?
00:08:47.960 Because of a small patch on Tom Cruise's leather flight jacket depicting the flag of Taiwan.
00:08:56.220 No violence.
00:08:57.520 Not offensive content.
00:08:59.180 Not a diatribe against China.
00:09:01.920 It was a patch on a jacket that 99.9% of the audience would never have even noticed.
00:09:10.880 That single symbol was enough for Beijing to block the film entirely.
00:09:15.020 The message was unmistakable, by the way.
00:09:18.680 Access to China's markets require you bowing down to them, right? 0.98
00:09:22.960 Political compliance and self-censorship.
00:09:25.740 Ronald Reagan understood the fight long before streaming even existed.
00:09:29.620 He knew television and storytelling were powerful tools in the battle of ideas.
00:09:33.820 Literally going after the, in the Cold War.
00:09:36.780 He understood that foreign or communist influence over American media posed a real threat.
00:09:42.620 That's why he became so famous when he was fighting communism in California.
00:09:46.500 As Reagan warned, quote, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
00:09:52.780 Protecting American culture and the cultural leadership became a cornerstone of his presidency.
00:09:58.420 And that lesson matters more now, I argue, than ever before.
00:10:03.940 There are also serious concerns about foreign money entering the American media ecosystem.
00:10:08.080 And then national security risks that come with it.
00:10:10.240 Some company proposals are involving legacy studios that would shrink the field from five to four major studios.
00:10:16.900 And that's a problem, right?
00:10:18.200 Concentrating more power and fewer hands and driving up costs for families who just want to watch a movie at home.
00:10:22.940 That kind of consolidation reduces competition, it limits your choice, and historically leads to layoffs, not innovation.
00:10:31.740 Even more troubling, some of these proposals and these takeovers are requiring money to come from overseas.
00:10:38.280 Reportedly backed by $24 billion, for example, from foreign governments.
00:10:43.360 Did you hear what I said?
00:10:44.160 Foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar.
00:10:47.840 Now, I'm hardly a fan of excess regulation, but we have laws on the books for a reason to protect the American marketplace and the American people from foreign manipulation.
00:10:57.760 So let's be clear, $24 billion, $24 billion from the Middle East is not philanthropy.
00:11:04.080 Foreign governments do not invest billions in American media for fun.
00:11:07.920 They do it to gain leverage, influence, narratives, shape what you see and hear.
00:11:13.200 That's why I say this is a direct national security concern.
00:11:16.220 So in today's world, influence is power.
00:11:19.040 And when American content is weakened, something else fills the void.
00:11:23.360 And increasingly, that content is shaped or approved by authoritarian governments.
00:11:28.720 That's the reason why I'm saying right now this Netflix Warner Brothers Discovery merger, it doesn't eliminate competition.
00:11:34.640 It actually strengthens American company and allows for us to get foreign-backed actors out of our studios.
00:11:43.920 That's why I say that this merger is important.
00:11:46.620 It's a vote for American workers, American creativity, and American strength.
00:11:51.520 And by the way, Ronald Reagan knew culture influence was national security and power.
00:11:57.240 That, my friends, hasn't changed.
00:12:00.320 So I'd encourage you, call your senator.
00:12:02.620 Tell him what you think.
00:12:03.980 Tell him if you want to back, as I do, the Netflix Warner Brothers Discovery merger.
00:12:07.820 Why?
00:12:07.980 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:12:12.880 Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now.
00:12:18.160 And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast, and we will see you back here tomorrow.
00:12:25.460 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:12:28.060 Guaranteed Human.
00:12:28.860 Guaranteed Human.
00:12:29.860 And we'll see you next time.
00:12:30.220 Bye.
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00:12:48.980 נים.
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