Embarrassment at CNN as Paramount Says News Network Is ‘Worth $0’ From Debt Pointing to Disastrous Relaunch of MSNBC as ‘MS NOW’

Paramount executives are defending the size of its $108 billion bid to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that its subsidiary, CNN, is worthless. WBD agreed to Netflix’s $83 billion offer to acquire its streaming and studio business. CNN and the rest of WBD’s cable companies would be spun off under a separate company, Discovery Global, which media insiders have labeled “BadCo.”Cable networks are now considered toxic by stock market investors because, although many of them are still very profitable, they are in steep, likely terminal decline as more and more consumers abandon cable for streaming services. CNN in particular is threatened as its core business — an unrivaled ability to bring in licensed video of news events around the world — has been made largely obsolete by social media platforms. Despite CNN’s woes, Paramount, owned by the Trump-aligned Ellison family, is trying to carry out a $108 billion hostile takeover of all of WBD, including CNN. President Trump has said that he thinks any deal — which would require regulatory approval — should lead to CNN being sold and placed under new management. The planned Discovery Global spin-off, in which CNN would remain under a current WBD executive, does not meet the president’s criteria for a sale, the Wall Street Journal reported.Last week, WBD’s board rejected Paramount’s offer, saying that it is “inferior” to Netflix’s bid. In defense of its offer, the chief executive of Paramount, David Ellison, insisted that his company’s offer “provides WBD investors greater value and a more certain, expedited path to completion.”Paramount emphasized the size of its offer by claiming that WBD’s cable networks, which it wants to buy along with the studio and streaming services, are worthless. To make its point about the future of Discovery Global, Paramount pointed to the example of Comcast’s decision to spin off its cable assets, including MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), under a new company, Versant. Versant debuted on the Nasdaq last week. Within two days of debuting, its stock value plunged 22 percent; since January 6, it has remained down 16 percent.Paramount is also factoring debt into the equation. The so-called “badco” will be loaded with debt from Discovery’s messy acquisition. As of Monday morning, the stock was hovering around $34. By contrast, Comcast’s stock has climbed more than 5 percent over the last five days to $29.30.In a statement, Paramount argued that the example of Versant’s stock “illustrates the challenged path ahead for Discovery Global.”It said that Netflix’s offer is valued at $27.75 per share for the streaming and studio business, while Paramount’s offer is valued at $30 per share for more assets. Paramount argued that “if Discovery Global trades in line with Versant, it is worth $0.00 / Share.” Part of the reason it said Global Discovery is worthless is that it has a “less attractive business mix” than Versant, and because CNN has a smaller audience than MS NOW. In 2025, MS Now averaged 551,000 total viewers for the total day, and 915,000 during the primetime hours. Meanwhile, CNN averaged 432,000 total day viewers and 573,000 primetime viewers. In a statement to the Sun, a spokesman for WBD, Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s former press secretary, criticized Paramount, saying, “Despite six weeks and just as many press releases from Paramount Skydance, it has yet to raise the price or address the numerous and obvious deficiencies of its offer. Instead, Paramount Skydance is seeking to distract with a meritless lawsuit and attacks on a board that has delivered an unprecedented amount of shareholder value.”“In spite of its multiple opportunities, Paramount Skydance continues to propose a transaction that our board unanimously concluded is not superior to the merger agreement with Netflix,” Mr. Gibbs said. His comment appears to refer to actions Paramount took on Monday as it continues to pursue its hostile takeover of WBD. Paramount filed a lawsuit Monday in an attempt to force WBD to release more information about its merger agreement with Netflix. Additionally, Paramount says it will launch an effort to alter WBD’s board composition to install board members who would be friendlier to its offer. Besides arguing that its deal provides more value, Paramount also insists it has a “more certain” path to have its acquisition approved by the Trump Administration. The Ellison family is seen as aligned with Mr. Trump. Larry Ellison, who bankrolled David Ellison’s purchase of Paramount, is a Trump supporter. However, Mr. Trump has voiced frustration with the Ellisons over CBS News, which is owned by Paramount. Ahead of the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of David Ellison’s Skydance Media acquiring Paramount, Skydance executives committed to practicing fair journalism. But CBS News’s “60 Minutes” has continued to run stories critical of the Trump Administration. “For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that 60 Minutes has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before,” Mr. Trump wrote in December. His disappointment with the Ellisons does not appear to have led him to favor the Netflix deal. On Sunday, Mr. Trump signaled that he has concerns about Netflix acquiring WBD due to its left-wing content. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “Stop the Netflix cultural takeover.”

Embarrassment at CNN as Paramount Says News Network Is ‘Worth $0’ From Debt Pointing to Disastrous Relaunch of MSNBC as ‘MS NOW’

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