Comcast Boss Suggests There’s ‘Viable’ Path To Win Trump’s Approval To Buy Warner Bros: Remark Follows Donation to Ballroom

A purchase of all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery will likely have a lot of eyes on it, as it would consolidate a vast swath of existing film and television producers under one roof, and the media giant Comcast is confident that it can get approval for a purchase from the Trump Administration, despite predictions from media insiders to the contrary. The confidence comes after Comcast made a donation of an undisclosed amount to the construction of President Trump’s planned ballroom at the White House, leading to an uproar from the high-paid stars at its far-left cable channel, MSNBC.Comcast is in the process of spinning off its cable business, including MSNBC, under a new company, Versant, and media analysts have speculated that Comcast executives would not be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s beleaguered cable networks, which include CNN.But Comcast is reported to be interested in acquiring the studio and streaming businesses of WBD, which include HBO and the Warner Bros. movie studio, which is one of Hollywood’s biggest film and television studios. A Trump Administration official told the New York Post earlier this month that approval for such a deal was unlikely, as the President dislikes Brian Roberts, who runs Comcast, which his family owns.However, on Thursday, the president of Comcast, Mike Cavanagh, suggested strongly to investors on a call reported by a left-wing media journalist, Oliver Darcy, that he believes that media analysts are too pessimistic about the possibility of acquiring some parts of WBD, which, like Comcast, is in the process of spinning off its declining cable companies from its profitable streaming and studio businesses. Mr. Cavanagh told investors that the “bar is very high” for an acquisition, and that the potential purchase has to be “complementary” to the businesses of the would-be buyer.“In this case, it would be streaming assets and studio assets,” he said.Mr. Cavanagh told investors, “I think more things are viable than maybe some of the public commentary that’s been out there.”The comment comes as the CEO of Skydance, David Ellison, is reportedly interested in buying all of WBD, just months after he completed his acquisition of Paramount. Mr. Ellison’s purchase was bankrolled by his father, the world’s second-richest man and Trump supporter, Larry Ellison. A Trump Administration official told the New York Post earlier this month, “Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is very important to the administration.”“The Warner board needs to think very seriously not just on the price competition but which player in the suitor pool has been successful getting a deal done,” the official said. “And that points to the Ellisons.”The younger Mr. Ellison has reportedly made three offers to buy all of WBD, which have been rebuffed. It seems unlikely that he would want to buy only the struggling cabling business portion of WBD if Comcast acquired the lucrative streaming and studio assets. If Comcast does make a bid for the streaming and studio units of WBD, Mr. Darcy notes that there “would be an audible exhale inside” from CNN staffers concerned about Mr. Ellison buying the network and trying to moderate its anti-MAGA, anti-Trump, and anti-Israel rhetoric.However, he said, “The mood inside NBC News might swing the other way. Many staffers, already unsettled by Comcast’s ballroom donation, would likely grow even more uneasy about what currying Trump’s favor could mean for their newsroom’s independence.”Comcast’s donation to Mr. Trump’s planned ballroom was seen as an attempt to improve relations with the federal government.It remains to be seen whether the olive branch will make a difference if Comcast does try to buy part of WBD. A veteran media reporter, Matthew Belloni, noted that Mr. Trump “hates” Comcast because of its association with MSNBC, which will soon be known as MS NOW and lose its iconic Peacock logo. Mr. Trump has also routinely criticized the CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts. “Comcast, which also has the ailing network known as NBC, is trying to stay away from lawsuits by disassociating NBC from MSNBC, but it won’t work,” the president said on Truth Social in April. “Comcast, the owner of both, and it’s [sic] Chairman, Brian Roberts, are a disgrace to the integrity of Broadcasting!!!”In February, he labeled Mr. Roberts a “lowlife” and the CEO of “Concast.”While media analysts have speculated that Comcast is trying to improve its relationship with the Trump Administration through its donation to the White House ballroom, hosts on MSNBC have been critical of their soon-to-be former parent company. Earlier this week, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said, “For every corporation—like our parent company, for another hot minute, Comcast—that wants to pay for Trump to take a literal wrecking ball, excuse me, I mean an excavator to the White House, those public-facing companies should know there’s a cost in terms of their reputation with the American people.”“There may be a cost to their bottom line when they do things against American values, against the public interest, because they want to please Trump, or buy him off, or profit somehow from his authoritarian overthrow of our democracy,” she added.Comcast did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Comcast Boss Suggests There’s ‘Viable’ Path To Win Trump’s Approval To Buy Warner Bros: Remark Follows Donation to Ballroom

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