Paramount and Warner Bros Complete $110 Billion Merger, Bringing CNN and CBS News Under One Roof
Theo Al Jazeera English
Paramount Skydance has closed its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery, creating a new company called Skydance that unites CNN and CBS News under one corporate roof. The deal, delayed by lawsuits from unions and 12 state attorneys general, was settled after the company agreed to an independent editorial board, though press freedom experts question whether that will protect editorial independence.
Paramount Skydance has completed its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery to form a new company called Skydance. The deal closed Tuesday, combining not only two entertainment giants that own film studios and theme parks, but also bringing CNN and CBS News — two of the most influential news brands in the United States — under one roof.
David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, the son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison and a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has appointed Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. Kreiz previously led the toy company Mattel.
The path to the deal was not smooth, running into lawsuits from unions and 12 state attorneys general. The deal was ultimately settled after the company agreed to establish an independent editorial board to oversee both news networks, amid concerns that the merger would lead to biased coverage.
On Monday, the company announced that Mark Thompson would remain editor-in-chief of CNN, while Bari Weiss — appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News exactly one year ago — would continue in that role. According to CNN's Reliable Sources media newsletter, Thompson's decision to stay came as a "sigh of relief" for journalists at CNN. Since the deal was announced, the network has been gripped by concerns that CNN would undergo major changes if the Ellison family took control.
A future still full of unknowns
Many questions remain unanswered about what the news operations will look like under Skydance. In a memo to staff on Monday, Thompson said "the specifics of how CNN will fit into and operate within the new company have yet to be finalized."
That means fears of layoffs and restructuring still hang over both news divisions, as the combined company carries $80 billion in debt while entertainment giants look to cut costs, expand their online presence and commit to producing 30 films a year.
Thompson's staying on may only be temporary, as The New York Times reported that his contract expires in the spring. It is also unclear whether the two networks will continue to operate separately or merge over the long term, amid concerns that CBS News's Weiss could be given additional oversight of CNN. Previously, top CNN names, including anchor Anderson Cooper, threatened to leave if Weiss took charge.
Weiss took over CBS News a year ago, and viewership has fallen across all programs. Most recently, according to Nielsen data, the news magazine show 60 Minutes saw a 21% drop in viewership for its new season premiere last month compared with the same period a year earlier, marking a 25-year low for a season premiere night.
Questions about editorial independence
The terms of the settlement with the state attorneys general require an independent editorial oversight board for both networks. Skydance has 180 days to establish the board. However, press freedom experts doubt that this will help preserve editorial independence.
Seth Stern, advocacy director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera: "It won't take effect for another 180 days. A newsroom can be completely transformed in 180 days."
This is not the first time a news organization has set up a board to address concerns about editorial influence. In 2007, when News Corp acquired Dow Jones — the parent company of The Wall Street Journal — the Bancroft family, then the owners, feared that conservative-leaning media mogul Rupert Murdoch would influence the paper's editorial independence. The paper established an independent five-member committee to protect editorial integrity, but former members of that committee later revealed in a discussion organized by the Freedom of the Press Foundation that the mechanism did not provide the oversight it was intended to.
In Skydance's case, the board consists of five journalists appointed by Ellison, and the company is not required to publicly disclose its findings. The terms state that no more than two members of the board may be affiliated with the same political party.
Stern commented: "The truth is not defined by the dividing line between political parties. Sometimes both parties are far from the truth. So a commitment to bipartisan representation rather than a commitment to telling the truth is a complete misunderstanding of the nature of news."
On the stock market, the new company began trading under the ticker SKYD. Since opening on Tuesday, the shares have fallen 2.5%.
