Panic has gripped CNN’s newsroom as Netflix walked away from its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday, clearing the path for Trump-allied billionaire David Ellison and his Paramount Skydance to take control of the embattled news network.
The streaming giant declined to match Paramount’s $31-per-share offer valued at approximately $111 billion, effectively handing Ellison—whose father Larry Ellison is a major Republican donor and Oracle co-founder—a sprawling media empire that includes CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, and CBS News.
“The panic at CNN right now is off the charts,” one insider told Status shortly after the news broke.
Staffers have good reason to worry. President Donald Trump has made no secret of his disdain for CNN, declaring in December that it was “imperative that CNN be sold” and that those running the network are “a disgrace.” By Thursday evening, Trump advisers were reportedly taking a victory lap as the Netflix deal collapsed.
The Ellison family’s relationship with the Trump administration has fueled fears that CNN could undergo the same controversial transformation that CBS News experienced after Paramount’s takeover. David Ellison appointed conservative journalist Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News last October, acquiring her publication The Free Press for $150 million—a move that sent shockwaves through the industry.
Those concerns intensified in December when Weiss spiked a “60 Minutes” segment titled “Inside CECOT” that investigated conditions at an El Salvador prison where the Trump administration had deported alleged Venezuelan gang members. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi wrote an internal memo accusing Weiss of making “a political” rather than editorial decision, warning that CBS was “trading 50 years of ‘Gold Standard’ reputation for a single week of political quiet.”
The fallout at CBS has been swift and brutal. Anderson Cooper announced his departure from “60 Minutes” in February after nearly two decades as a correspondent, citing family reasons—though multiple reports suggested the network’s new direction played a role. One source told Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter that Cooper “wasn’t comfortable with the direction the show was taking under Bari.”
Larry Ellison has already signaled potential changes at CNN. The 81-year-old billionaire floated the idea of firing top CNN talent including anchors Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar back in November, reportedly singling them out because they are disliked by President Trump.
The deal carries additional controversy beyond the Trump connection. Approximately $24 billion of the deal’s financing comes from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding—raising concerns given Saudi Arabia’s role in the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav called the merger a source of “tremendous value for our shareholders.”
Press freedom nonprofit Free Press warned the merger “endangers our democracy by giving a family of pliant billionaires even more control of vast swaths of our news coverage, TV stations and movie studios.”
If the deal goes through, Ellison will control an unprecedented media portfolio spanning news networks, streaming platforms, cable channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central, and film studios such as DC Studios and New Line Cinema.
CNN staffers aren’t mincing words about their fears. Multiple employees expressed alarm to Status, with one lamenting that they anticipated “the Bari Weiss treatment.” CBS producers reacted with similar dread, anticipating cuts on both sides if CNN and CBS News come under the same corporate umbrella.
CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson attempted damage control, sending a memo urging staff not to “jump to conclusions about the future until we know more.” He announced Warner Bros. Discovery boss Zaslav would hold a town hall meeting Friday to address the news.
The deal still faces regulatory scrutiny. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his office would probe the transaction, stating “Paramount/Warner Bros is not a done deal.” Netflix walked away with a $2.8 billion breakup fee after its pursuit proved “no longer financially attractive” following Paramount’s sweetened offer—a 63% increase from its original September bid.
David Ellison attended President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night as a guest of Senator Lindsey Graham, and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was spotted at the White House Thursday for last-ditch meetings with administration officials just hours before Netflix announced its withdrawal.
For CNN journalists who have spent years covering the Trump administration critically, the prospect of working under an owner with close White House ties represents an existential threat to editorial independence.