CNN staffers are scared for the future now that Paramount's Trump-friendly CEO is set to seize control of the network's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. 'Panic' reverberated across the network's newsroom Thursday after Netflix said its pursuit of Warner was 'no longer financially attractive,' according to Status. A $31-per-share offer from Paramount CEO David Ellison that amounted to $111 billion was not countered. Ellison's intentions for the channel remain unclear. Ellison and his father Larry Ellison are friendly with the Trump administration, which approved the pair's acquisition of Paramount last year.
Trump Allies Celebrate as Netflix Drops Warner Bid
Trump advisors took a victory lap Thursday at Netflix retracting their bid for Warner's studio and streaming outfit, one source told Status. Netflix only wanted to buy Warner's streaming and movie studio. Paramount is the parent company of CBS News, where staffers are also reportedly panicked - at the prospect of CBS and CNN coming under the same roof. '[Expletive], [expletive], [expletive],' one CBS producer told Status, resorting to curses when questioned about the increasingly likely future. 'Well, [expletive],' another staffer similarly said. The move would mean cuts on both sides, another CBS source agreed.
CNN 'Panic Off the Charts' Over Bari Weiss Appointment
The idea of coming under control of Ellison's pick to lead CBS News, right-leaning Bari Weiss, also has staffers at CNN particularly scared, sources told Status. 'The panic at CNN right now is off the charts,' one insider said Thursday night. A CNN staffer said the company has lost any credit as 'stewards of a news brand over the last few months' because of changes made at CBS News under Weiss. Weiss, 41, was appointed by Ellison himself in October, with the expectation of being a disruptor. She is a fierce critic of legacy news. The billionaire father of the Paramount owner, meanwhile - 81-year-old David floated the idea of firing some of CNN's top talent if his son was able to acquire the news network's parent company back in November, sources told the Guardian at the time.
The Oracle founder singled out anchors like Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar because they are not liked by Donald Trump, sources said back then. The elder Ellison - well-known GOP donor - also reportedly pondered a programming change that would put longtime CBS News flagship program 60 Minutes on CNN. At the time, his son, a 43-year-old former Hollywood producer, had just entered an unknown bid for the entire WBD portfolio, CNN included. Netflix then entered its $27.75-a-share bid, which was abandoned on Thursday, following months of bids from Paramount. Larry and David were the only bidders who wanted to buy WBD in its entirety. CNN, as a channel, has shed nearly two-thirds of its primetime viewers since 2016.
A Netflix acquisition would have seen CNN spun off alongside Warner's other waning cable assets into an entirely new company, much like MS NOW's separation under Versant last year. The network was previously controlled by NBCUniversal. 'A Paramount WBD merger is a disaster for the people who work at both companies, and if Bari Weiss takes control of CNN, it will be the end of the global network Ted Turner founded,' one frightened CNN producer told the Guardian Thursday. Trump said back in December of Warner: 'I don't think the people that are running that company right now and running CNN - which is a very dishonest group of people - I don't think that should be allowed to continue. 'I think CNN should be sold along with everything.'