When Warner Bros. Discovery hit the market in October, employees inside CNN were understandably rattled after years of shifting corporate ownership and editorial priorities, with one staffer telling TheWrap: “People want this phase to be over.”
Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets settled the most immediate question of who would win the bidding war involving CNN’s parent. But as CNN CEO Mark Thompson acknowledged on Friday in a memo to staff: “I can’t promise you that the media attention and noise around the sale of our parent will die down overnight.”
Indeed, there’s still speculation that Paramount CEO David Ellison could make a play for CNN, potentially merging it with CBS News, or even mount a takeover of the entire company.
That prospect underscores the lingering uncertainty that’s long hamstrung CNN, one of the shiniest objects in WBD’s stable of cable assets. Even as there’s some semblance of forward progress with a new streaming strategy and its planned spinoff as part of Discovery Global along with likes of TNT, Discovery and the Food Network, the news operation seems destined to be weighed down by M&A speculation.
“Maybe Paramount still sees value in combining CNN with CBS News,” Jonathan Klein, a former CNN president and CBS News senior vice president who now leads Hang Media, told TheWrap. “So I think that issue is far from settled, and unfortunately, my friends at CNN are still going to have to have to live in purgatory for a little while.”
For now, CNN remains on track to become part of Discovery Global, which WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said during a Friday town hall will still happen, albeit pushed back a bit to the third quarter next year. And Thompson remained bullish on the network’s future in his memo, saying the news of the acquisition means CNN could “continue to roll out our strategy to secure a great future for CNN by successfully navigating our digital transition.”
Thompson said that he, Wiedenfels, who will serve as Discovery Global CEO and WBD CEO David Zaslav have already agreed to a 2026 budget with an “increased investment for the plan.”
“I know this strategic review has been a period of inevitable uncertainty across CNN and indeed the whole of WBD,” Thompson wrote, adding that he would schedule a town hall soon. “I do think the path to the successful transformation of this great news enterprise remains open.”
Part of that transformation includes building a more sizable digital presence with its third attempt at a streaming business. In October, it launched CNN All Access, a $6.99-a-month subscription service offering live feeds of its different news networks, a library of documentaries and other programs and video dispatches from anchors and correspondents.
Veteran TV producer Evan Shapiro told TheWrap that while there few cable networks that have the brand, scale and audience loyalty to make the transition, CNN is among the few that could successfully make the pivot. A WBD insider suggested to TheWrap that the deal with Netflix was a win for CNN, which could get more attention and resources through Discovery Global.
Klein, however, told TheWrap he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Warner Bros. and its bankers would still entertain selling cable networks like CNN or TNT.
Broadcasting companies like Nexstar and Sinclair could pursue them to expand their national reach, he added. Nexstar has already made a play for a national presence with its NewsNation cable news network and the acquisition of The CW network in 2022.
Paramount could also still seek the network to expand the Ellisons’ sprawling media empire.
“I don’t think that Paramount is going to slink away from eating the whole enchilada,” Klein said.
Bari Weiss, the Free Press co-founder who now serves as CBS News editor-in-chief, had been hoping Paramount would be victorious in bidding for WBD, as a deal could merge CBS News with CNN into a global news powerhouse. There are potential synergies in newsgathering and talent, with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper already serving as a “60 Minutes” correspondent; he’s also among the TV news stars that Weiss reportedly wants to bring to CBS.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has made clear he’d prefer David Ellison nabbing CNN’s corporate owner and the Paramount chief’s megabillionaire father, Larry Ellison, reportedly spoke to White House officials about axing certain CNN hosts that the president doesn’t like. Netflix can be expected to face daunting regulatory hurdles under the Trump administration and with state and European regulators.
It’s still unclear what Paramount’s next move will be. After sending off multiple fiery letters to Warner Bros., including one that accused it of abandoning “the semblance and reality of a fair transaction process” and rigging the sale for Netflix, the company has remained silent about its next steps.
A WBD spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about whether the company would entertain offers for all or part of Discovery Global. A Paramount spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about whether the company may still pursue CNN, whether as a standalone network or in pursuit of Discovery Global.
In the meantime, Klein suggested that Thompson remain focused on CNN’s present goals, such as its newly launched streaming service, rather than fixate on a change in corporate leadership.
“There’s really very little you can do to affect the fate of CNN, other than to continue doing the best journalism in the world,” Klein said. “That’s got to be the mission, and getting that journalism in front of as many people as possible, wherever they happen to be. That’s what all of those people at CNN love to do more than anything, and so they’ll just buckle down and do it, I’m sure.”
