CNN Future at Stake

Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN and HBO, announced that it’s open to a sale, leaving its news and streaming subsidiaries’ futures uncertain.

The media conglomerate previously announced a plan to split into two companies — cleaving its entertainment offerings, including the Warner Bros. film studio and the HBO Max streaming service, from its sports and news programming. It says it has decided to explore sale opportunities after receiving bids.

David Ellison, whose company Skydance recently took over Paramount, has reportedly expressed interest in bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison recently spent $150 million to buy Bari Weiss’s website, the Free Press, and named the conservative writer editor in chief of CBS News.

An acquisition would place CNN and CBS, two legacy news brands, under the same roof. A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment on whether the company would — or had already — bid.

“It’s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “After receiving interest from multiple parties, we have initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets.”

Though Zaslav did not say who the bidders were, he acknowledged Warner Bros. Discovery has received “unsolicited” bids for the whole of the company, as well as just its streaming and entertainment assets. A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment on what the announcement means for the news brand specifically.

Under the current separation plan, which the company says is expected to conclude in 2026, the company’s television and streaming brands — HBO, HBO Max, and its television and movie studios — would become part of a company called Warner Bros. Another company, Discovery, would house CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery’s live TV offerings.

In recent years, CNN has seen numerous ownership changes and reorganizations, as interest in cable television declines. The broadcast giant, which has struggled with declining ratings and a failed streaming service in recent years, laid off 6 percent of its staff in January in a move it said would allow it to expand digital operations.

The cable news company was long housed under founder Ted Turner’s Turner Broadcasting System from its launch in 1980 until 1996 when the parent company was acquired by Time Warner.

Telecommunications giant AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 in an $85 billion deal, but the deal proved short-lived, and in 2022 it spun off its news and entertainment properties and merged them with Discovery to make a new company called Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount’s interest in CNN precedes Ellison’s tenure.

In 2023, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery held preliminary merger talks, a deal that analysts at the time said would propel the two brands into better position to compete with streaming giants such as Netflix and the Walt Disney Co., which owns Disney+ and Hulu.

CNBC reported Tuesday that both Netflix and Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, are also “interested parties.” Comcast is in the process of spinning off its cable networks, including MSNBC, from NBC and the rest of the company.

Dave Heger, a senior analyst at Edward Jones, said Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses are viewed as much higher-value parts of the company, while the cable business, which includes CNN, has been on the decline. He noted that legacy TV channels are weighing down media companies that lack diversification.

“The more your revenue is concentrated in the cable business, the more it’s been a drag on investor reception and the stock,” Heger said.

Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at the market research firm Forrester, said that a Warner Bros. Discovery sale would further consolidate the media landscape.

“On one hand, this could help scale streaming platforms better compete with Netflix,” he said. “On the other hand, when just a few conglomerates, like Skydance, increasingly control the lion’s share of some of the most popular platforms, it raises all sorts of questions around the future of content diversity and expression — especially in an era where political influence on media and entertainment is at an all-time high.”

Consumers could be hurt by fewer options. “Bigger is better might be good for shareholders, but will consumers ultimately benefit with better-quality content, lower prices and accessibility?” Proulx added. “It all depends on if a sale happens but, more importantly, who ends up buying WBD.”