Looming over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of cable networks CNN and HBO, are the preferences of President Donald Trump — particularly his attraction to media companies that serve his personal and political goals.
Paramount Skydance, the media conglomerate owned by Trump-friendly billionaire David Ellison, reportedly has had its sights set on Warner Bros. Discovery since the Trump administration approved Paramount’s merger with Skydance over the summer — a move that has led to concerns about a potential MAGA-fication of CBS News.
Trump has praised Ellison and his father, Larry — an uberwealthy member of the rich cadre of men Trump has tapped to oversee a takeover of TikTok in the U.S. — as “supporters” and “friends,” and the president has claimed CBS will be better off in the younger Ellison’s hands.
Now, a whisper campaign reportedly has emerged involving allies of the Ellison and Trump camps, the purpose of which is to nudge Warner Bros. Discovery into Paramount Skydance’s ownership.
CNN’s Brian Stelter reported Thursday on an effort by Ellison’s allies who are “privately arguing that he is the only buyer who would pass muster with Trump administration regulators.” Conservative columnist and Fox News contributor Charles Gasparino reported in the New York Post on Thursday that, from the Trump side, the administration “favors Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery — and a number of rival bidders are likely to face stiff hurdles from US regulators in the blockbuster auction.” Gasparino quoted a senior Trump administration official as saying:
“Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is very important to the administration,” a senior Trump administration official told On The Money. “The Warner board needs to think very seriously not just on the price competition but which player in the suitor pool has been successful getting a deal done.” “And that points to the Ellisons,” the senior administration official added. MSNBC has not independently confirmed that reporting, but the prospect of Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is raising alarm bells among Democratic lawmakers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts explained the risks of such consolidation in a short video, saying it reeks of political influence and could lead to price hikes: Trump, his administration and the broader MAGA movement appear to be in hot pursuit of the goal that Hungary’s authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, prescribed for conservatives when he told them in 2022 that the key to political control is control of the media. Trump’s assault on the independent press has looked every bit as illiberal as Orbán’s. Trump appears to have taken the advice to heart. He has declared that broadcast networks that air criticisms of him should have their licenses revoked for airing content he doesn’t like. He has filed punitive lawsuits against outlets in an apparent attempt to dissuade them from running negative coverage. And his Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, issued a thinly veiled public threat urging TV station owners to “take action on [Jimmy] Kimmel” after the late-night TV host criticized Republicans’ responses to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump’s assault on the independent press has looked every bit as illiberal as Orbán’s. The prospect of one of Trump’s self-described “friends” vacuuming up yet another major media company, as would be the case if Paramount Skydance acquires Warner Bros. Discovery, would do little to quell comparisons to Orbán’s Hungary.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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