CBS’s New Owner Said To Be Nearing Bid for CNN’s Parent Company: CNN Could Face Same Reforms, Oversight as CBS News

On the heels of finalizing the enormous acquisition of Paramount Global, the CEO of Skydance, David Ellison, is reportedly eyeing another major acquisition, turning his eyes to the parent company of CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery, which could lead to major changes for the ratings-challenged news network. Shortly after the $8.4 billion acquisition of Paramount was approved by the Federal Communications Commission, speculation began to swirl that Mr. Ellison is considering making a bid to acquire WBD. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Mr. Ellison, the son of software magnate Larry Ellison — who this week passed Elon Musk and became the world’s richest man — is “preparing a majority cash bid” for WBD. An offer has not yet been submitted.The deal would be for all of WBD’s properties. It comes as the media conglomerate is preparing to spin off its rapidly growing streaming and movie business and its declining cable networks. It is expected that the cable business, including CNN, will see significant layoffs after the split is complete. While the Paramount deal was significant, the Journal notes that acquiring WBD before the split would likely require an even larger purchase price, as its market capitalization is roughly $33 billion. However, the paper notes that paying for the company before the split could be a shrewd business decision to avoid a bidding war over the various properties.The deal would lead to a mammoth merger of two storied Hollywood studios. It would also likely lead to consternation among left-wing journalists and hand-wringing about the future of CNN. Mr. Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount appeared to be delayed for months as the studio sought to settle President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS over its editing of Vice President Kamala Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes.” After Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle the lawsuit, Skydance executives met with the FCC and made written commitments to unbiased journalism. CBS News, which has been in a slow but steady decline since the 1980s, has been accused for decades of a pronounced liberal bias, and a series of new owners and executives over the years have failed to reverse or staunch the decline, or meaningfully address the bias. In the last year, CBS’s alleged anti-Israel base has become a central issue. Skydance’s pledges sparked concerns among left-wing journalists that the new owner of CBS News would try to transform it into a conservative outlet. Speaking to reporters on August 7, Mr. Ellison signaled he wants to make CBS News into an outlet that Americans on the left and the right feel they can watch.After weeks of relative quiet at CBS News, Mr. Ellison has stirred up fears among the staff and left-wing commentators about the future of the Tiffany Network. Last week, it was reported that Mr. Ellison is closing in on a deal to buy a pro-Israel, anti-woke outlet, the Free Press, and give its founder, Bari Weiss, a senior role at the network to shape its editorial voice.CBS News also announced it would address allegations of anti-conservative bias at “Face the Nation,” hosted by Margaret Brennan, by committing to not editing pre-recorded interviews. The show has been plagued with accusations that it selectively edits interviews to remove information or expressions of viewpoints by conservative newsmakers that go against liberal establishment narratives. Earlier this week, Paramount announced that a former president of the Hudson Institute, Kenneth Weinstein, will serve as an ombudsman for CBS News, where he will “review editorial questions and concerns” as executives aim to clean up the storied broadcaster. A far-left media reporter, Oliver Darcy, suggested that Mr. Weinstein’s presence will have a “chilling effect” on the network, even though the ombudsman position does not have unilateral authority to make changes. If Mr. Ellison decides to move forward with a bid to acquire WBD, it would likely require antitrust scrutiny and possibly a review by the FCC, which could open the door for the Trump administration to try to force concessions at CNN.Left-wing reporters have speculated that the FCC pressured Skydance to take steps to address allegations of an anti-Trump and anti-Israel bias at CBS News. The chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, has said that the agency engaged in a normal review process of the deal, though he did say that the commitments to fair journalism were key to approving the merger.Already, some commentators are predicting that CNN would see some changes if Mr. Ellison acquires WBD. A left-wing writer, Matthew Yglesias, wrote on X, “Conventional media liberalism is gonna be the new edgy heterodoxy.”“Larry Ellison just passed Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person. He has donated millions to a foreign military (the IDF) and other Israel causes. Now his equally fanatical pro-Israel son is buying Paramount/CBS for Bari Weiss to run, and trying to do the same for CNN,” journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote. A columnist for the Nation, David Klion, wrote on X, “The same people putting Bari Weiss in charge of CBS want to run CNN too.”It is still too early to see if Mr. Ellison will succeed in reining in liberal bias at CBS News. If he acquires WBD, he will also likely face internal resistance to changes aimed at moving the network to the center. After the 2024 election, CNN briefly attempted to make a pivot to the center, but since Mr. Trump returned to power, its left-wing staff has resumed producing anti-Trump stories and commentary.Skydance did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

CBS’s New Owner Said To Be Nearing Bid for CNN’s Parent Company: CNN Could Face Same Reforms, Oversight as CBS News

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