Just three days after Netflix announced plans to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) studios and streaming service for $83 billion, Paramount launched a hostile takeover of the deal, offering WBD shareholders $30 per share for the entire media conglomerate. With a new $108 billion price tag on the table, the sale of one of Hollywood’s historic studios hangs in the balance. Enter President Trump. Never one to shy away from a little entertainment-business drama, Trump suggested adding a new twist to the negotiations: Force WBD to sell CNN, either as part of the agreement or separately.
CNN on Notice
During a roundtable in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Wednesday, December 10, Trump insisted it is “imperative that CNN be sold.”
“I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace,” Trump said.
Netflix’s agreement to acquire WBD included Warner Bros. studios and streaming assets, but not CNN. Paramount, on the other hand, wants to buy all of WBD, including the left-wing news organization.
When asked what changes he’d like to see at CNN under new leadership, Trump simply responded: “You have some good companies bidding.”
Paramount CEO David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, recently “offered assurances to Trump administration officials that if he bought Warner, he’d make sweeping changes to CNN,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The elder Ellison also reportedly had an “informal” conversation with Trump last month about the future of CNN, including whether hosts Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar would stay in their current roles. While Larry Ellison does not have an official position at Paramount, he is its majority shareholder.
Notably, Paramount’s hostile takeover is backed by the Public Investment Fund – owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – and Affinity Partners, an investment firm led by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
L’imad Holding Company PJSC and Qatar Investment Authority have also thrown their financial weight behind Paramount’s bid.
Conservative News Network?
Trump’s quiet campaign to influence CNN’s future comes after years of attacking the network, which he frequently refers to as “Fake News CNN.”
Aside from rumored staffing changes, it’s unclear exactly how Trump would change CNN if given the chance – but a 2022 Truth Social post offers a glimpse into his thinking:
“Fox News is no longer Fox News. They won’t even show or discuss the greatest & most impactful documentary of our time, ‘2000 Mules.’ The Radical Left Democrats are thrilled – They don’t want the TRUTH to get out. Depressing to watch what has happened to Fox! CNN should go Conservative and take over the greatest, strongest, and most powerful BASE in U.S. history. Nobody is watching CNN’s Fake News now so, as I say, what the hell have they got to lose? Sadly, they're too stupid to make the change!”
In a recent CNBC interview, David Ellison said the future of a Paramount-owned CNN would be about building “a scaled news service that is basically, fundamentally, in the trust business, that is in the truth business, and that speaks to the 70% of Americans that are in the middle.”
Ellison added that he has had “great conversations” with Trump about the possible CNN takeover, but noted, “I don’t want to speak for him in any way, shape or form.”
What Happens Next
In response to Paramount’s $108 billion offer, WBD said, “The Board is not modifying its recommendation with respect to the agreement with Netflix.”
Warner Bros. Discovery added that it would provide a recommendation to its stockholders on how to proceed, promising to respond to Paramount within ten business days.
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