Paramount Skydance considers selling CNN amid antitrust challenge to WBD merger
Paramount Skydance's chief legal officer has signaled the company could sell CNN after 12 US states, led by California, filed a lawsuit seeking to block its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount Skydance's leadership has suggested the company could part ways with its news channel CNN, in an apparent attempt to overcome antitrust obstacles to its planned merger with media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The possibility of a CNN sale was raised by Paramount Skydance's chief legal officer, commenting after 12 US states, led by California, went to court seeking to halt the deal between the two major media companies.
Antitrust lawsuit
The lawsuit filed by the states rests on antitrust grounds, with the plaintiffs arguing that a Paramount Skydance-WBD merger could excessively concentrate power in the US media market and harm competition within the industry.
If completed in full, the deal would bring several influential media brands under one roof, including CNN, currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. A potential divestment of CNN could be one way to ease concerns among antitrust regulators and the states involved about excessive market concentration in a single company's hands.
It remains unclear whether and when an actual sale of CNN might take place, or how the lawsuit will ultimately affect the broader merger plans between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. The case could set an important precedent for how future large-scale media mergers are reviewed in the United States.
