Hollywood has long wielded both quiet and overt influence in the nation’s capital. The themes and stories in its films and TV shows can change popular culture and opinion, while the companies that produce those projects use their money and access to secure favorable policy from lawmakers.
Last year, however, marked a sea change in how the entertainment business lobbies: Artificial intelligence-spurred disruption, the surprise tariffs (President Trump’s “Liberation Day” and his Hollywood attempts at keeping production in the U.S.) and other geopolitical complexifiers have been top of mind for the major studios. While filings reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter show that traditional lobbying focal points like tax policy and copyright law were a constant across every company in the ecosystem, more timely topics also took center stage.
According to multiple sources in the lobbying and public policy space, Hollywood firms and their Big Tech competitors poured resources into securing a seat at the table when it comes to AI policy, with the entertainment firms trying to protect their IP, even as tech sought to undermine those protections.
The surprise tariffs, including Trump’s threatened (but so far unrealized) film tariff, resulted in a surge of spending on production incentives and tariff-related lobbying, files show, as Hollywood sought to reshift the focus on tax incentives rather than tariff tax hikes.
And then there’s the battle for Warner Bros. Lobbyist filings show that in the fourth quarter last year, Paramount began lobbying both houses of Congress and the White House for its proposed takeover of WBD, while Netflix began lobbying in the same quarter on “issues related to competition” (YouTube’s market dominance, anyone?). Also in Q4, Comcast began lobbying on “media consolidation” as the three parties that had been pursuing Warners put their money where their mouths are.
Last year marked upheaval in government, with Trump taking office alongside a Republican Senate and House, and the lobbying dollars shifted accordingly. According to a review of lobbying records, essentially every major entertainment and tech company now counts the Trump-aligned Ballard Partners as among its DC lobbying partners, with another conservative upstart, Miller Strategies, also securing business from players in the space.
Because Comcast is primarily in the heavily regulated telecommunications sector, it spends more on lobbying than other entertainment companies that don’t have to worry about broadband policy and other rules.
This story appeared in the Jan. 29 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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