Report: Paramount preparing bid for CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery
For months, it looked like Warner Bros. Discovery was going to spin off its cable networks such as CNN and TNT into a separate business. Now, as the industry continues to adjust to a period of generational disruption, the whole TV, movie studio and streaming conglomerate might be a target of a takeover.
Fresh from its own merger, Paramount Skydance is preparing a majority cash bid for the entirety of WBD, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
If completed, the deal will unite two of Hollywood’s most influential media and entertainment conglomerates, with wide-ranging properties including DC Comics, “Harry Potter,” “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek” and Atlanta-founded cable giants CNN and TBS, among others. Paramount’s assets also include Paramount+ and free ad-supported streaming television service Pluto TV, CBS, BET Media Group and pay television channels such as MTV, Showtime, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
A representative for WBD declined to comment. Paramount did not respond to a request for comment. The bid, if made and accepted, will likely require regulatory approval.
WBD’s shares were up by 26% after the WSJ’s report. Paramount’s shares were up by about 9%.
Now up in the air is the separation WBD has been teasing for months. Earlier this week at a Goldman Sachs media conference, WBD CEO David Zaslav said he expected the split to be completed by April 2026.
WBD announced it was splitting its business into two divisions in December of last year, just months after it took a $9.1 billion write-down on its own book value to reflect the diminishing value of its cable networks. A write-down often occurs if assets acquired in a deal do not generate the financial results that were expected of them at the time of purchase.
WBD did not reveal further details about the nature of the split until June. One division will include WBD’s film and television libraries, HBO Max and DC Studios, among other entities, and will be led by Zaslav.
A second division will house WBD’s entertainment, sports and news television brands, including Atlanta mainstays CNN, TNT Sports, TCM and Cartoon Network. It will be led by WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, the face of cost-cutting at the company.
An undisclosed, though significant, sum of WBD’s $37 billion in debt load will exist with the networks company. But it will retain up to a 20% stake in the streaming division.
During a June news conference announcing the split, Zaslav said the two companies will be “better aligned with shareholders based on each business’ individual dynamics and growth prospects,” and will be more agile and more aggressive in pursuing growth.
After regulatory scrutiny and more than a year of back-and-forth, media companies Paramount Global and Skydance Media completed a $8 billion merger in early August.
About the Author
Savannah Sicurella is an entertainment business reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
