All posts tagged "Warner Bros."

CNN insiders shredded an op-ed by a MAGA billionaire who's trying to take over their parent company, according to a media reporter.

During an episode of the Status podcast Power Lines, Oliver Darcy, who reports on media, said that CNN staffers and journalists panned a New York Times op-ed by Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison, who is trying to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison controls CBS, which has seen a MAGA makeover of its news programs under Bari Weiss and cut the Trump-critical The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The Paramount chief's guest essay marked his first public defense of the deal, which a dozen states sued to block. A judge halted it until a trial set for March, but if it's greenlit, Ellison would take control of CNN. Darcy said that he spoke with more than a dozen people inside CNN about whether the essay swayed them, and they responded with a "resounding no."...

A major media merger approved by the Trump administration hit another standstill, according to The New York Times.

On Friday, Paramount said that it agreed to halt its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros., which would bring the movie studio and its programs, including CNN, under the control of MAGA-friendly David Ellison, The Times reported.

The Department of Justice greenlit the industry-shaking deal in June. The Trump administration had leverage over Ellison, the Paramount Skydance CEO, while he awaited the DOJ's approval. During that wait, Ellison transformed CBS News and cut "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert....

A red state is capitalizing on a major Hollywood studio's rift with California over a Trump-backed merger, per reports.

According to a Tuesday article by The Hollywood Reporter, Tennessee is courting Paramount Skydance as it sets its sights on a new home. Paramount Skydance has threatened to leave California after a coalition of a dozen attorneys general filed a lawsuit to block a $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The Trump Department of Justice greenlit the merger earlier this year.

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development sent a letter on July 2 to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, in which it tried to woo the Trump-allied chairman....

Paramount Skydance's greenlight to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery will lead to a major shakeup at CNN, warned a political strategist.

The upheaval coming for CNN will make recent events at CBS look like peanuts, political strategist Chai Komanduri said on MS NOW. While Paramount awaited approval from the Trump administration for the Warner Bros. deal, CBS ended "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and ousted a slew of "60 Minutes" anchors and producers.

"Now, if you can replicate that on CNN, and you can diminish and downsize the voices in opposition to Trump or the criticism of moves of the administration, that gives Trump a lot more power," Komanduri said. "The stories that we have heard out of CBS News will be peanuts compared to the stories that will probably come out from CNN."...

David Ellison, son of the billionaire Larry Ellison and the chief executive of Paramount Skydance, was a guest at President Donald Trump's State of the Union on Tuesday night.

It was considered an interesting move as Paramount is "seeking to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal that Trump has promised to 'be involved' in," The New York Times reported. "Ellison’s presence may raise eyebrows at Netflix, the rival bidder."

Paramount, which leverages the wealth of Larry Ellison's empire, has cultivated a relationship with the Trump administration. The company is in a bidding war with Netflix for control of Warner Bros. Discovery....

Hollywood producer and studio go to arbitration over claims they owe him millions for Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy