reported<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n\n Two people granted anonymity to speak freely for this story confirmed that Diller made repeated approaches to WBD and said he remains interested in CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n Other billionaires and media investors have also explored potential paths to acquire CNN in recent years.\n <\/p>\n
\n However, there are several reasons why WBD has not parted ways with the news network.\n <\/p>\n
\n For one, CNN is a cornerstone of the parent company\u2019s lucrative carriage deals with cable and satellite distributors, which also cover channels like TNT and the Food Network.\n <\/p>\n
\n WBD is currently in the process of splitting into two publicly traded pieces: Warner Bros., which will house the eponymous movie studio and HBO, and Discovery Global, which will house CNN and other channels.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cCNN is an incredibly important part of the future of Discovery Global once it separates from Warner Bros. CNN was not and is not for sale,\u201d a WBD spokesperson said in response to the Journal report.\n <\/p>\n
\n But that hasn\u2019t stopped suitors from calling. As one person involved in the matter said, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing new about people being interested in the premier global news network, but there\u2019s no good reason to sell CNN.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Diller\u2019s interest, though, may be relevant to the ongoing Wall Street debate over Discovery Global\u2019s future valuation.\n <\/p>\n
\n Once the WBD split takes effect this summer, Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros for $27.75 per share. Discovery Global would trade separately.\n <\/p>\n
\n But Paramount has offered $30 per share for all of WBD, including CNN and the other channels. The WBD board has rejected Paramount\u2019s hostile takeover push, arguing that the Netflix deal is superior. Among the reasons: The Netflix deal will let shareholders \u201crealize the value of Discovery Global\u2019s iconic brands and global reach.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Paramount has argued that Discovery Global would have little to no equity value. WBD has rejected that and argued that Discovery Global could go for up to $6.86 per share in an acquisition.\n <\/p>\n
\n A recent financial filing by WBD showed that CNN is expected to make $1.8 billion in revenue this year and post $600 million in profit.\n <\/p>\n
\n The Journal did not specify how much Diller offered for the news network. But the report on Diller\u2019s interest could ratchet up the overall valuation talk for Discovery Global.\n <\/p>\n
\n Diller, 83, is the chairman of IAC, a media holding company that controls People, The Daily Beast and dozens of other brands.\n <\/p>\n
\n His inquiry about CNN did not reach the WBD board of directors level last year, one of the people involved in the matter said.\n <\/p>\n
\n The person also noted that any such sale would have undesirable tax consequences for WBD.\n <\/p>\n
\n There may be practical political considerations, as well. Diller is a longtime critic of President Donald Trump and a prominent Democratic donor \u2014 exactly the kind of person Trump doesn\u2019t want owning CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n The president said in December, shortly after Netflix signed the deal for Warner Bros, that \u201cI think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace. I think it\u2019s imperative that CNN be sold.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n At the time, his comments implied he favored Paramount\u2019s hostile takeover bid, though he bashed Paramount later in the month as well.\n <\/p>\n
\n A media executive said an attempted Diller-led takeover of CNN would be a non-starter because \u201ceverybody understands that M&A goes through the Oval Office right now.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Diller did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday night. An IAC spokesperson declined to comment.\n <\/p>\n
\n In an interview last year timed to the release of his memoir, \u201cWho Knew,\u201d Diller expressed confidence in CNN\u2019s future as a business.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhat is the future of television?\u201d host Fareed Zakaria asked. \u201cIs CNN going to exist?\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cUnless idiots truly come to operate it, of course, it will exist,\u201d Diller quipped in response.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt is \u2014 I think it \u2014 it\u2019s absolutely the only institutional news brand worldwide that I think actually has a future because it is video,\u201d Diller said. \u201cIt just needs now to figure out a digital kind of footprint for the video.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Late last year, CNN launched a streaming subscription called All Access, targeting cable cord-cutters and people who primarily consume news on their phones.\n <\/p>\n
\n CNN said in a press release this week that it exceeded \u201cits subscription goals for 2025 and is off to a strong start in 2026.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CNN is not for sale, the company reiterated Wednesday after a news report about media mogul Barry Diller\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-257148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}