The cold, hard truth that many inside CNN have been grappling with over the past few months is that the venerable satellite news channel, Ted Turner’s greatest invention, was about to undergo a radical shakeup, whoever won the battle for parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
If Netflix wins, CNN will be transformed into a debt-laden public company, which was widely expected to cut costs and consider a fire sale of its assets (Nexstar’s Perry Sook has reportedly coveted the cable channel, though it’s not clear whether he will pursue it, given his company’s ongoing pursuit of TEGNA).
But Paramount has already undergone a news overhaul, with CEO David Ellison hiring Barry Weiss to CBS News with a mandate for change. Weiss and Ellison are said to be obsessed with the (undeniable!) fact that consumers, regardless of their political affiliation, are losing trust in mainstream media.
“We’re not making a product that enough people want,” Weiss told CBS News staff last month. “We can blame demographics, technology, interrupted attention spans, or ‘news avoidance,’ but these are all ways of coping.”
While the implementation of this plan remains in flux, Weiss sought out journalists who would put themselves at the center of the story, taking a cue from creators and influencers on TikTok and YouTube, while bringing more right-leaning voices to the segments.
Or as David Ellison told Paramount shareholders earlier this week: “As part of this revitalization, we are focused on expanding the range of stories covered and amplifying voices.”
Assuming the Paramount deal succeeds, that change is coming for CNN. Weiss is widely expected to expand her remit, though she may not be alone: It has not escaped some at CNN that their former colleague Chris Wallace has quietly joined RedBird Capital Partners, Ellison’s financial and operating partner at Paramount, as a senior advisor.
Wallace (son of legendary CBS journalist Mike Wallace), who recently hosted an interview show on CNN, previously worked as a longtime anchor and analyst for Fox News, and also ran a show on NBC. Learn about journalism. RedBird relies on its own team of advisors (which also includes former advisors). Vanity gallery Editor Graydon Carter) to help advise her investments. And of course Jeff Zucker, former president of CNN, also works with RedBird as operating partner and CEO of the RedBird IMI joint venture.
For CNN staff, the anxiety is driven by a never-ending barrage of owners, from AT&T to Discovery to Paramount, where each change is followed by new cost cuts. It is also prompted by comments from the President of the United States, who has made it very clear that his primary interest in selling WBD is who will gain control of CNN.
“I think the people who have run CNN for the last long period are a disgrace,” President Donald Trump told reporters in December. “I think it’s necessary to sell CNN.” The Wall Street Journal It was also reported at the time that Ellison promised to make significant changes to the channel, although the details of those promises were not known.
However, CNN is a much stronger business than CBS News, even though neither outlet dominates the ratings charts. WBD revealed as part of the sale that CNN is expected to generate revenue of $1.8 billion in 2026, rising to $1.9 billion in 2027, $2 billion in 2028, and $2.2 billion by 2030. CNN’s adjusted EBITDA in 2026 is estimated at about $600 million, before falling to $500 million in 2027 and remains constant at $600 million until 2030.
CBS News has much lower revenue than that, though it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, as CNN has recorded a dedicated pay-TV carriage fee, with CBS News sharing those fees with the rest of CBS. Sources pegged CBS News at roughly break-even or with a slight low- to mid-eight-figure loss (depending on how you calculate those fees).
Multiple sources say CBS News and CNN had already discussed a potential merger years ago, when CNN was owned by Time Warner. These conversations were driven by a desire to save costs. One source says negotiations broke down when the complexities of merging union CBS and non-union CNN became clear. That would be Paramount’s problem now.
But Weiss had difficulty reassuring CBS employees that her desire was driven by a sincere desire to move the network’s news division into the 21st century, rather than a political project of the company’s owner. Anderson Cooper has chosen to leave CBS 60 minutes During his stay with CNN, what he does if and when this deal closes will certainly be closely watched.
And while WBD CEO David Zaslav really enjoys news coverage (he frequently texts CNN anchors to discuss segments and interviews he’s seen on air, and his daughter is a producer for the satellite news channel), Ellison seems more directly focused on the entertainment business.
Or as one TV news veteran put it, most media executives “don’t see.” [news] “As an opportunity, they see it as a problem.”
It’s a setup that has CNN employees understandably on edge, as CNN CEO Mark Thompson seemed to recognize in a memo to employees Thursday evening.
I want to end this note with two thoughts: “Despite all the speculation you’ve read throughout this process, I suggest you not jump to conclusions about the future until we know more. “And secondly, let us not forget our duty to our audience. We are still close to the beginning of what is already an incredibly newsy year at home and abroad, a year that will culminate in crucial US midterm elections and who knows what else. Let us remain focused on providing the best journalism possible to the millions of people who depend on us around the world.”
As Thompson noted, CNN needs to focus on the midterms as its employee base grapples with next steps. Pending deals are always a drag on morale, and in the media business, that can sometimes be seen on screen.
Or as Jake Tapper told CNN viewers on a “Breaking News” alert Thursday night: “We have some breaking news at our national command that affects everyone I’m watching in the studio right now.”
CNN is about to change, but how it will change remains a mystery for now. Meanwhile, the tension seems to be getting under control.
