Barry Diller laid out his intended plans for owning CNN in an interview Wednesday, telling journalist Graham Bensinger that he’s been “very interested” in acquiring the news network for the past several years — and that he’d change the Warner Bros. Discovery property in “every way” were it to come to pass.
“The chances of my being able to get it are at best 30, 40%, but for the last couple of years, I’ve been very interested,” Diller said on “In Depth With Graham Bensinger.” “I don’t think it’s because the people are untalented or whatever. I think they squeezed the people who run CNN, and I think it has not been managed optimally.”
He added that the international heft of the brand has “enormous potential influence” and that “it would be very worthwhile to be really fully competitive, which I don’t think it is.”
Diller revealed that while he is friendly with WBD CEO David Zaslav and board member John Malone, he’s told them both that he doesn’t think CNN is “optimally programmed.”
“By the way, the facts support that, meaning that its ratings have declined, its revenue has declined. Still is quite profitable,” he said.
Asked how he would alter the media giant, Diller emphasized, “Oh, in every way. Look, feel and see — every way. And I mean, I hope I get the chance. I don’t think I will, but I hope I do.”
Watch the full clip from “In Depth” below:
News of Diller’s interest in the news network broke in January, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that the billionaire media and tech investor expressed interest in CNN prior to the announcement of Warner Bros. Discovery’s review of strategic alternatives in June.
An insider familiar with the matter told TheWrap that Diller met with a few executives from management, but that no serious action was taken nor was it brought to the company’s board of directors.
CNN, of course, is housed under the wholesale acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by David Ellison’s Paramount, a $110 billion deal cemented last month that will see all studio, streaming and Discovery assets sold at $31 per share.
