CNN and CBS News Brought Under Single Corporate Umbrella as Skydance Merger Closes
The newly combined company Skydance began trading on Wall Street on Tuesday, marking the completion of a $110bn merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery. The deal brings together two major entertainment giants that own movie studios and theme parks, while also bringing two of the United States’ most influential news brands, CNN and CBS News, under a single corporate roof.
Skydance CEO David Ellison, son of tech tycoon Larry Ellison and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has appointed former Mattel leader Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. The path to completing the merger involved lawsuits from unions and 12 different state attorneys general. The deal was ultimately settled after the company agreed to establish an independent editorial board to oversee both news networks, addressing concerns that the merger could lead to skewed coverage.
Leadership and Operational Uncertainty
On Monday, the company announced that Mark Thompson will remain as CNN’s editor-in-chief, while Bari Weiss, who was appointed editor-in-chief at CBS News a year ago on Monday, will also stay in her position. However, Thompson’s continuation may be temporary, as The New York Times reported that his contract is set to expire in the spring.
In a memo to staffers on Monday, Thompson noted that "the specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized." This uncertainty comes amid lingering fears of layoffs and consolidation. The combined company carries $80bn in debt, and the entertainment giants are looking to cut costs, expand their streaming footprint, and have pledged to produce 30 movies per year.
It remains unclear whether the two news networks will stay separate or eventually combine. Concerns have been raised that CBS News’ Weiss could be given additional charge of CNN. In the past, top talent at CNN, including journalist Anderson Cooper, has threatened to leave if she were brought on board. Under Weiss's leadership over the past year, viewership at CBS News has slumped across the board. The news magazine programme 60 Minutes recently saw its season premiere viewership drop 21 percent from the prior year, marking its worst season premiere viewership in 25 years, according to Nielsen ratings.
Concerns Over Editorial Independence
Under the terms of the settlement with the state attorneys general, Skydance has 180 days to establish the independent editorial oversight board for both networks. However, press freedom experts have expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of this measure. Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera that because the board does not take effect for 180 days, "the newsroom can be totally overhauled" in the interim.
The board is designed to consist of five journalists appointed by Ellison, with no requirement for the company to disclose its findings to the public. The terms specify that no more than two members of the board can be affiliated with the same political party. Stern criticized this structure, stating, "The truth isn’t dictated by the fifty-yard line between political parties. Sometimes neither political party is even close to the truth. So having a commitment to bipartisan representation, as opposed to a commitment to truth-telling, totally misunderstands what news is."
Similar oversight boards have historically faced criticism regarding their actual influence. In 2007, when News Corp acquired Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, a five-person independent committee was established to preserve editorial integrity amid concerns over Rupert Murdoch's potential influence. Former members of that board later revealed during a roundtable hosted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation that the committee did not deliver the level of oversight originally intended.
Market Debut and Financial Outlook
The newly formed company began trading on Wall Street under the ticker symbol SKYD. Since its opening on Tuesday, the company's stock has dropped 2.5 percent as it begins navigating its heavy debt load and cost-cutting initiatives.
