Ellison family unites CNN and CBS in $110bn merger — SkimNews
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- Skydance Corporation completed its ~$110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, bringing CNN and CBS News under the same corporate umbrella alongside HBO, Paramount+, Showtime, Comedy Central and DC Studios after months of legal challenges.
- David Ellison, Skydance's chairman and CEO, donated roughly $45m to a pro-Trump political nonprofit in 2024 and $16.6m to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces — the charity's largest single donation at the time — while his father and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is a major financial backer of the deal.
- A California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America both sued to block the merger; the cases settled in September with commitments including a 5-member "News Editorial Independence Board" to be formed within 180 days, though critics note members are appointed by Ellison's board and need not publish findings.
- Since Skydance acquired Paramount in 2025, the company enacted layoffs, closed CBS News Radio, and fired correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega along with 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon; 60 Minutes' September premiere drew about 21% fewer viewers than a year earlier.
- Paramount paid Trump $16m in 2025 to settle a lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters "the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better."
- Bari Weiss will continue as CBS News editor-in-chief and Mark Thompson stays on as CNN's chairman, a Monday announcement designed to ease fears Weiss would immediately take charge of both networks.
- Sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE hold indirect financial interests in the combined company, though they have no voting stakes.
Why it matters: Two of America's largest news networks are now controlled by a family that donated $45m to Trump's 2024 effort, paid him $16m to settle a 60 Minutes lawsuit, and appoints the very board meant to police its own editorial independence — with no requirement to publish its findings — all less than a month before the November 3 midterms.
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