On November 21, 2025, the race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery—home to iconic brands like HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros. Studios—reached a fever pitch as Paramount Skydance, Comcast, and Netflix all submitted formal bids. The high-stakes contest, reported by Reuters, The Guardian, and multiple other outlets, has quickly become a flashpoint for political intrigue, regulatory wrangling, and industry speculation, with each bidder facing its own unique set of hurdles.
Paramount Skydance, led by CEO David Ellison and backed by his billionaire father Larry Ellison, appears to have the inside track, thanks in no small part to connections at the highest levels of government. According to The Guardian, the White House is reportedly leaning toward Paramount’s offer—a preference that hasn’t gone unnoticed by observers or rival bidders. Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder and Paramount’s largest shareholder, is said to have spoken directly with White House officials about the potential acquisition. More controversially, discussions reportedly included the fate of certain CNN anchors, notably Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar, who have been frequent targets of President Donald Trump’s ire.
“The White House favors Paramount’s bid,” The Guardian reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Radar Online added that Ellison’s conversations with the administration touched on “who would be axed from CNN if the deal went ahead.” While these talks are described as informal, the proximity of Ellison’s influence—his son David runs Paramount—means such suggestions are far from idle speculation.
The political dynamics swirling around the deal are as complex as any Hollywood script. President Trump’s well-known animosity toward CNN and certain of its personalities is no secret. After a $16 million settlement between CNN and Trump over a lawsuit regarding a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 election rival Kamala Harris, Trump publicly celebrated the subsequent cancellation of CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert—another critic. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump gloated on his social media platform, Truth Social, according to Radar Online.
Trump’s disdain for CNN hosts like Erin Burnett has been especially pronounced. Following Burnett’s criticism of his comments on immigration, Trump lashed out, calling her “ratings challenged” and “very boring,” and even reminisced about her attempts to appear on The Apprentice. “She would do ANYTHING! I let her on the show a number of times, but her calls didn’t stop, and I finally told her, ‘Sorry, no more.’ The fact is she was not smart, and very boring, much like she is today on her soon-to-be-canceled show, put it to sleep! Anyway, just saying,” Trump wrote, as quoted by Radar Online.
Not surprisingly, the prospect of political favoritism has raised alarms among lawmakers. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Richard Blumenthal have voiced concerns about the integrity of the regulatory process, particularly after learning of Paramount Global’s $16 million donation to Trump’s Presidential Library. The payment, made before the Skydance merger that installed David Ellison at Paramount’s helm, was part of settling Trump’s lawsuit against the media company. The senators worry that such financial ties could taint the approval process.
Regulatory scrutiny doesn’t end with political optics. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) may review any deal involving foreign investors, depending on the size of their stake. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is also expected to closely examine the implications of merging Paramount’s and Warner Bros’ cable networks—a combination that would unite two major studios, two streaming giants (HBO Max and Paramount+), and two news operations (CNN and CBS). According to Comscore estimates reported by Reuters, the merged entity would control about 32% of the U.S. and Canadian box office revenue for 2025, a figure likely to worry both regulators and industry insiders. The creative community, too, may face fewer employment options if the number of films produced drops or if newsrooms are consolidated.
Overseas, European regulators are expected to weigh in, particularly regarding media plurality rules. The potential combination of CNN and CBS under one corporate umbrella raises questions about diversity of viewpoints and market dominance in the news sector.
Comcast, another major contender, faces its own political headwinds. The Philadelphia-based cable giant has long been a target of President Trump’s criticism—he’s even derisively dubbed it “Concast”—and has publicly lambasted its chairman, Brian Roberts. While the DOJ must base any opposition on legal and competitive grounds, the political climate can’t be entirely discounted. The precedent isn’t clear-cut: during Trump’s first term, the DOJ attempted to block AT&T’s $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner (which owns CNN), but a federal judge ultimately allowed the deal in 2018. If Comcast were to succeed, the combined Universal Pictures and Warner Bros Studios would control over 43% of the North American box office, according to Comscore. That level of consolidation could set off alarms among regulators and theater owners alike, who worry about diminished opportunities for filmmakers and talent.
Netflix, the streaming powerhouse, offers a different kind of challenge. Its bid for Warner Bros Discovery wouldn’t affect theatrical releases but would dramatically reshape the subscription video landscape. By combining HBO Max’s 128 million subscribers with Netflix’s own 300 million, the company would become a behemoth in the streaming world. This prospect has drawn criticism from Republican lawmakers. Senator Roger Marshall and Representative Darrell Issa warned that a Netflix takeover could “raise prices and decrease choice for consumers.” The Pentagon has also entered the fray, criticizing Netflix in October 2025 for airing “Boots,” a series about a gay Marine. A Defense Department representative told the Hollywood Reporter, “We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”
Yet, as Reuters notes, market dominance is a moving target. Nielsen data shows that YouTube actually commands more television viewing in the U.S. than Netflix, complicating any argument that Netflix’s expanded footprint would stifle competition. The DOJ will have to decide whether this new scale threatens consumer choice or simply reflects the evolving ways Americans consume entertainment.
Other companies, including Amazon, reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Warner Bros Discovery but did not submit formal bids by the November 20 deadline. Paramount Skydance’s offer is described by insiders as “nearly all cash, 80 percent of its bid, no leakage and regulatory certainty,” with a potential price tag as high as $70 billion. “They’re selling the WBD board that by going with them, they have a bird in hand and vast uncertainty with the others,” one source told Radar Online.
As the dust settles on the first round of bidding, all eyes are now on regulators and the White House. The outcome will not only reshape the media landscape but could also set the tone for how politics and business intersect in the new era of mega-mergers. For now, the fate of Warner Bros Discovery—and perhaps the future of American media itself—hangs in the balance.
