CNN has a new owner: Sky Dance.
After a tumultuous process, which lasts about a yearSkydance-owned Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. on Tuesday. Discovery for $81 billion. And beyond Hollywood, the mega-merger brings together two titans of the American television landscape – CBS and CNN – under the same roof.
On the eve of the deal closing, Skydance confirmed that CNN’s Mark Thompson would remain as editor-in-chief of the channel, separate from CBS, where Bari Weiss remains at the helm. But it still remains to be seen what the merged company’s news operations will look like in the longer term.
Politics is also a priority. The billionaire family of Skydance CEO David Ellison enjoys a cozy relationship with President Donald Trump – who has not hesitated to target coverage he considers unfavorable from CNN and CBS. Last month, his administration moved to CNN bar from the White House. And the new owner of the network arrives as coverage increases less than a month before the 2026 midterm elections.
Ellison pledged to maintain “complete” editorial independence. Under a recent settlement with the States which challenged the merger, the company also agreed to establish new oversight of CBS and CNN by forming a “News Editorial Independence Council” within 180 days.
However, Skydance executives will choose who sits on that board. And critics warn of the overall consequences of industry consolidation.
CNN editor-in-chief remains
Skydance announced Monday that Thompson, who was chairman and CEO of CNN, since 2023 – would continue to run the network. In a staff memo published by Business Insider and others, Thompson said he has “real confidence” that Ellison and other Skydance executives “will fully support the principle and practice of the type of independent reporting that CNN has always stood for.”
Thompson, a former chief executive of the BBC and The New York Times, acknowledged that some details of CNN’s operation have not yet been finalized – but said he plans to run the network “with the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now.”
CBS News and its trademark “60 Minutes” program have already experienced numerous editorial disruptions since becoming owned by Skydance last year. For critics of the changes, the news of Thompson remaining at CNN is a significant safeguard, but some experts cautioned that time will tell.
“CNN and CBS News will ultimately be under the same ownership, and ownership can exert a much more subtle influence than directly telling an editor what stories to cover,” said J. Christopher Hamilton, an associate professor at Syracuse University.
The long-term question “is whether that independence remains intact when it becomes costly or uncomfortable for the parent company,” he added.
Charles Schreger, an assistant professor at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, expects Thompson not to be influenced by politics — and said he doesn’t think Skydance would keep the executive if the company didn’t “intend to let[CNN]operate in a neutral way.”
New editorial monitoring
According to court documents, the new editorial independence body will include five “active or retired” journalists with at least 10 years of experience.
However, these members will all be appointed and report to the board of directors of the combined company. Ellison remains in the Skydance president’s front row.
“Although it is characterized as independent, it will be comprised of members appointed by Paramount,” said Megan Duncan, an associate professor of journalism at Virginia Tech’s school of communications. She predicts this will “weaken the power of this board.”
According to the agreement, the board’s responsibilities include establishing a set of “guiding editorial principles” based on CBS and CNN standards and practices, resolving “any disputes” between employees of the two networks and company management, and “monitoring compliance with ethical journalism.”
“We are going to ensure that CNN and CBS News are completely editorially independent,” Ellison reiterated Tuesday, during a media event alongside his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
Asked specifically about conversations with Trump, Ellison later added: “We haven’t spoken to any political leaders of any party about the news – other than to say that we want to be in the business of truth and we want to be in the business of trust.”
“Disappointed not to be able to do more”
Leading prosecutors like California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the 12-state coalition that initially sought to block the Paramount-Warner merger – said this new board would help “ensure independent, objective, fact-based reporting.”
However, others would have liked the regulation to go further. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong wanted a full divestiture of CNN and CBS and said last month he was “deeply disappointed that we couldn’t do more.”
Meanwhile, while joining the rest of the states in a broader agreement, Colorado and Washington notably refused to sign the drafting committee’s terms.
Separately, as part of a deal with Hollywood writers, the Writers Guild of America said Paramount also agreed to ban layoffs of writers specifically at CBS News Broadcast for the next five years.
Experts like Duncan stress that it will be important to keep an eye on any future job cuts – or any future merging of resources in the name of profits.
That might give the impression that CNN and “60 Minutes” are able to share the results of a high-profile interview, for example, she says. A consequence could be a reduction in the number of approaches to reporting important events.
“The more information we have that competes for credibility and public attention, the better off we are as a democracy,” Duncan said. She also highlighted CNN’s strong international coverage today and warned that such reporting could be reduced if the company chooses to focus on consolidating its audience in the United States – which could have an outsized impact on “our first draft of the story.”
The sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are also expected to hold significant indirect holdings of the now combined Skydance. These investors have no voting rights in the company, but critics say the money opens the door to potential behind-the-scenes influence.
Trump and CNN
Last month, Trump CNN banned – as well as Politico and MS NOW – from the White House due to what it called unfavorable coverage. The three points of sale since filed a joint complaintand are keep fighting their case before the court.
CNN has long aroused the anger of the Republican president and members of his administration. Earlier this year, the White House attacked CNN for its coverage of the US-Israeli war against Iran – and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that “the sooner David Ellison takes over this network, the better.”
CBS has also faced its own attacks from Trump. Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount in 2025 was approved by the Federal Communications Commission just weeks after the company agreed pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit concerning the editing of the channel’s “60 Minutes” show.
In December, just days after Paramount launched its then-hostile bid for Warner, Trump told CNN spreading “poison and lies” and that it was “imperative” that the network be sold.
He applauded the closing of the merger more broadly on Tuesday – saying Skydance is “going to be a great company.”
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Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman in London contributed.
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