Paramount says CNN sale 'on the table' to resolve California suit over Warner Bros deal
Paramount says a CNN sale is one option as state attorneys general argue the merger would raise prices and reduce competition.
- Paramount Skydance is keeping options "on the table," including a possible sale of CNN, to resolve California's antitrust suit challenging its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other states filed to block the merger, arguing it would create a "media behemoth" capable of raising prices and reducing competition in film and television markets.
- Britain cleared the $110 billion takeover after extracting five-year guarantees on programming and editorial independence for CNN International and CBS News, leaving California's litigation as the final major regulatory obstacle.
- Paramount's legal officer Delrahim suggested the company may leave California, citing a "fiduciary duty to your shareholders" that dictates business decisions and referencing Xavier Becerra's desire to keep Hollywood in the state.
- State attorneys dismissed Paramount's pledge to release films annually as unenforceable, arguing the company could still raise prices and decrease quality after the merger despite clearances from China and other jurisdictions.
36 Articles
36 Articles
Paramount Unwilling to Sell CNN as Industry Pushes for Settlement Concessions
A Paramount source is pushing back on reports that CEO David Ellison could sell CNN in an effort to resolve the legal battle surrounding the company’s ongoing acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. There is “zero truth” to the notion that Ellison is prepared to sell CNN in connection with the WBD transaction, a source with knowledge told TheWrap Thursday. “CNN is not for sale,” the source added. The denial follows comments from Paramount chief l…
Paramount Signals CNN Sale Remains an Option Amid Antitrust Fight Over Warner Bros. Deal
Paramount Skydance is leaving open the possibility of selling off CNN as it searches for a way to clear the legal roadblock standing in the way of its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to comments from a top company executive this week. Makan Delrahim, Paramount Skydance’s chief legal officer, said the company is weighing every available option — including a CNN divestiture — as it works to resolve an antitrust lawsuit f…
Ellison Is Now Willing to Sell CNN to Save His $111 Billion Deal. It Wouldn't End the Lawsuit.
David Ellison is dangling CNN to appease critics of his massive Warner Bros. Discovery deal, but the attorneys general suing to block it say the offer solves nothing. A September deadline and a seven-figure daily fee are forcing a decision that no single concession can fix.
Paramount’s Flimsy Bid to Critics of Its CNN Takeover
Paramount has discussed establishing an independent editorial board for CNN to ease well-established fears that the network’s sale wil reduce it to a mouthpiece for David and Larry Ellison—and by extension, President Trump. Paramount already owns CBS News, a relationship that has resulted in the ascension of The Free Press’s Bari Weiss and the crippling of 60 Minutes. Now, the $81 billion deal to buy CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery—whi…
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