ATLANTA, GA — The corporate ground beneath CNN’s feet just completely collapsed on live television. During Thursday’s episode of “The Lead,” anchor Jake Tapper grew visibly emotional as he halted his broadcast to deliver unprecedented breaking news directly to his colleagues: Paramount Skydance is taking over Warner Bros. Discovery.
Following a vicious bidding war, Netflix formally backed down, refusing to match Paramount’s colossal $111 billion offer for WBD. While Netflix only wanted HBO and the movie studios, Paramount fought aggressively for total control of the entire conglomerate—including the struggling CNN news network.
Returning from a commercial break, Tapper read the breaking news bulletin that effectively sealed the network’s fate.
“So we have some breaking news in our national lead that affects everybody I’m looking at right now in the studio,” Tapper began, his demeanor serious. “Moments ago, Netflix said it is declining to raise its offer for the purchase of Warner Bros. Studios and HBO, following the Warner Bros. Discovery board’s determination that Paramount, which is not just going for Warner Bros. Studios and HBO, but also the whole enchilada, including us here at CNN, Paramount has submitted a superior offer.”
While the buyout is subject to U.S. and European regulatory approval, the panic inside CNN’s studios is already palpable. President Donald Trump has long demanded that “CNN must be sold,” accusing the network of severe, unfair bias against him. Reports indicate that Paramount CEO David Ellison has already spoken to the Trump administration, promising “sweeping changes” to CNN once the ink is dry.
CNN staffers only need to look at Ellison’s recent track record to understand why they are terrified.
When Ellison’s Skydance acquired Paramount and its subsidiary CBS last year, he aggressively restructured its leadership. Ellison made a massive $150 million deal with Bari Weiss—founder of the “anti-woke” Free Press—and installed her as the editor-in-chief of CBS News. With Ellison now acquiring the “whole enchilada,” the likelihood of a similar conservative overhaul at CNN is extremely high.
The brutal reality behind CNN’s sale is that the network has been hemorrhaging viewers for well over a year, while Fox News continues to utterly dominate the cable landscape. The latest February numbers paint a disastrous picture for legacy media networks:
Fox Dominates The Demographic: Fox News secured 3.1 million weeknight viewers, obliterating CBS (2 million) in primetime and absolutely sweeping the highly coveted 25-54 age demographic.
CBS Collapses: Meanwhile, CBS suffered its worst primetime month since 2000, with “CBS Evening News,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “CBS Mornings” all hitting record-low ratings.
The Fox Juggernaut: “The Five” remains the undisputed king of television at 5 p.m. ET with over 4 million viewers. “Special Report with Bret Baier” crushed “CBS Evening News” in 14 major markets, while “Jesse Watters Primetime” effortlessly defeated ABC’s “20/20” at 8 p.m. ET.
Late Night & Morning Sweeps: “Gutfeld!” easily beat out network darlings Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. In the mornings, “FOX & Friends” ended February by celebrating its 60th consecutive month as the No. 1 cable news morning show, easily beating CNN and MSNBC combined.
With Fox News securing the top 100 cable news shows of the month and pulling in massive numbers with Hispanic and wealthy viewers, CNN simply could not compete. The network’s ratings collapse has forced the sale, and David Ellison is stepping in to clean house.