Insiders at left-wing cable news network CNN are worried that “it could be the end” for them if Paramount Skydance completes the takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery now that Netflix has bowed out of its bid to purchase WBD.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper fretted that the close relationship between Paramount chief David Ellison and President Donald Trump may give the president influence over what happens at Warners-owned CNN, The Wrap reported.
Tapper insisted on the air that the Paramount deal “affects everybody I’m looking at right now in the studio.”
President Trump — and every other Republican and conservative — have been slamming CNN’s biased coverage for decades, but now network insiders fear that Ellison, who appointed Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss to curb the bias at CBS News, might aim for a similar coverage-balancing makeover at CNN.
Indeed, Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle co-Founder Larry Ellison, has openly talked about firing certain CNN on-air staffers. And when Netflix was working to buy Warners, President Trump said that he hoped Netflix would sell off CNN to place it under new management.
With these pressures, CNN insiders are “very concerned,” The Wrap says.
“People think it could be the end of CNN,” a staffer told The Wrap. “As much as people say that’s not possible, what’s to say that’s not possible?”
“Contracts are coming up, and everybody is confused,” another CNN insider told The Wrap. “What are we signing on to? What is CNN going to be?”
Still, CNN CEO Mark Thompson is warning that people should not “jump to conclusions” — that everything is very fluid and tentative right now.
On Thursday, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos announced that the streaming giant has decided to walk away from its once leading bid for Warners.
“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid,” Netflix said.
That left Paramount Skydance as the top bidder for WBD.
Paramount CEO David Ellison expressed gratitude to the Warner Bros. Discovery board prior to Netflix backing out.
“We are pleased WBD’s Board has unanimously affirmed the superior value of our offer, which delivers to WBD shareholders superior value, certainty and speed to closing,” Ellison said.
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