CNN Faces New Uncertainty as Paramount Moves into Warner Bros. Battle

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00:00CNN Faces New Uncertainty As Paramount Moves Into Warner Bros. Battle

00:04CNN's future has once again been put into doubt, as Paramount Skydance's hostile takeover

00:10bid for Warner Bros. discovery reignites uncertainty around the network's ownership and direction.

00:16The surprise move has thrust CNN and its cable siblings back into the middle of a high-stakes

00:20corporate battle just days after Netflix's deal appeared to offer the channel a reprieve

00:25from restructuring, according to the Associated Press.

00:28Netflix's Warner Bros. acquisition initially spared CNN, but Paramount's bid changes that,

00:34targeting cable networks, including CNN.

00:38This raises the possibility of a CNN-CBS news merger, increasing uncertainty and anxiety

00:43among current and former CNN leaders, says Johnson.

00:47Paramount's bid still needs shareholder and regulatory approval, with notable political

00:51connections.

00:52President Donald Trump maintains close ties to Paramount Skydance chairman David Ellison

00:57and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

01:01Before the bidding war escalated, Warner Bros. Discovery had already planned to split CNN and

01:06other cable networks into a new entity called Discovery Global, a reflection of cable television's

01:12declining value as streaming expands and advertising dollars shrink.

01:16In response, CEO Mark Thompson has accelerated the network's shift toward digital subscription products.

01:23But I do think the path to the successful transformation of this great news enterprise remains open.

01:29Asked whether CNN and CBS News would be combined, Ellison replied,

01:34Yeah, though the details remain vague.

01:38His broader ambition, he said, is to build a news organization that appeals to the 70% of Americans that are in the middle.

01:45Johnson offered a hopeful counterpoint.

01:48There is such a need for independent, unbiased news services.

01:52I so hope that the new CNN owners will see that as their fundamental mission.