David Ellison is reportedly already talking about what he\u2019d do to CNN\u2014before he even owns the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, the Paramount Skydance CEO told Trump administration officials during a recent Washington visit that he\u2019d make \u201csweeping changes\u201d at CNN if he manages to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the network\u2019s parent. The subtext isn\u2019t subtle: CNN is a longtime Trump target, and Trump has told confidants he wants new ownership and programming changes, the Journal reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ellison\u2019s comments come amid a fast-moving takeover scramble involving Warner Bros. Discovery. After the company accepted an offer from Netflix, Ellison said Paramount would pursue a hostile bid directly to shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company,\u201d Ellison said in a statement announcing the move. He argued that the competing proposal would leave shareholders exposed to uncertainty around the company\u2019s linear cable networks business and face a more difficult regulatory path.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Ellison\u2019s father, Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison, called President Donald Trump after the announcement that Warner Bros. had accepted the Netflix deal to argue that \u201cthe transaction would hurt competition,\u201d according to The Wall Street Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrump has told people close to him that he wants new ownership of CNN as well as changes to CNN programming,\u201d added the Journal <\/em>story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump, for his part, has never been shy about where he thinks CNN belongs on the media food chain. Earlier this year, he dismissed the network as \u201cscum\u201d in remarks on the White House lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n