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The news that Warner Discovery reached a deal to have Netflix acquire their streaming and studio businesses had CNN breathing a bit easier. The competing offer from Paramount and David Ellison would have included the purchase of the cable-news channel, which would have put CNN under the control of CBS News’ new president – the woman striking fear into the hearts of Protection Racket Media narrative-amplifiers everywhere.
Dylan Byers wrote about the sighs of relief on Friday after the announcement of the Netflix acquisition:
Unsurprisingly, the majority of CNN insiders impulsively view this as a better outcome than being owned by David Ellison, who until now had been seen as the frontrunner to acquire all of the WBD assets. Mostly, they seem relieved that they will not have to work for Bari Weiss, the crusading Free Press founder and newly appointed CBS News editor-in-chief who was set to expand her remit to a combined CNN-CBS newsroom if Ellison had landed the deal. (It’s possible Ellison could still buy the Discovery cable assets, including CNN, though that was never the motivator for his pursuit of WBD.)
“No one was looking forward to all that would come from being under the Ellison/Weiss news regime,” said one CNN reporter. A CNN higher-up called it “a great day for independent journalism.” That’s at least arguably true from an editorial perspective, but it certainly ignores the broader business implications of what it means to be spun out, Versant-style, as a cable company in 2025.
It turns out that Ellison’s interest in CNN continued unabated. This morning, Ellison’s Paramount launched a hostile takeover offer for Warner Discovery, going directly to the shareholders with a better share price bid. Ellison also wants all of Warner Discovery:
Paramount, run by David Ellison, is arguing that its all-cash $30 a share offer for all of Warner, owner of networks such as CNN, TBS and HGTV as well as the HBO Max streaming service, is a better deal for shareholders and more likely to pass regulatory muster. Paramount said its offer “provides shareholders $18 billion more in cash than the Netflix consideration.”
The offer, “provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion,” Ellison said in a statement.
Netflix agreed to pay $72 billion, or $27.75 a share, for Warner’s studio and HBO Max streaming business after the entertainment company splits itself in two, in a cash-and-stock deal the companies announced Friday.
That’s not the only consideration that WBD shareholders will have to consider. Any acquisition of WBD will raise regulatory concerns and will have to pass muster with the FTC. Donald Trump warned last night that he planned to take a role in the approval process, although he praised Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos as well:
President Trump says he would have a role in whether a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers should go forward, telling reporters the market share of a combined entity could raise concerns pic.twitter.com/F4bw7d6TUp
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 8, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would have a say whether a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Brothers should go forward, telling reporters the market share of a combined entity could raise concerns.
“I’ll be involved in that decision,” Trump told reporters as he arrived at the Kennedy Center for its annual awards show. … “There’s no question it could be a problem,” Trump said.
The timing here is interesting. Trump didn’t make a point of issuing a statement; reporters asked him a question about it during the red carpet photo spray. The Ellison bid will probably raise the same anti-trust concerns that Netflix’s acquisition raises, too. However, Ellison was a big part of the CBS News settlement with Trump during that acquisition, and Trump would undoubtedly like to see CNN reform itself in the same way as CBS News has under Weiss. He might well prefer to have Weiss run CNN as well as CBS, and now that possibility is at least on the table again.
I suspect that Sarandos will be forced to restructure his acquisition to account for all of WBD, which means CNN will get eaten one way or the other. And that may end up being bad news even if Netflix prevails, as Sarandos is also close to Trump:
Ted Sarandos scored a critical sit-down with President Donald Trump in the weeks leading up to Netflix‘s successful $82.7 billion agreement to buy Warner Bros. and HBO Max, according to sources familiar with the confab. The meeting, which took place in the Oval Office and lasted for more than an hour, occurred on Nov. 24.
The conversation was intended to cover a range of topics, including the possibility of a federal film tax incentive. However, sources say, much of the talk was about Netflix’s bid for Warner Bros. and HBO Max.
So pass the popcorn, refresh your scorecards, and see which titan of industry gobbles up Warner Discovery – and how much they eat.
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