"If Warner Bros. Discovery was only a movie house, it would have had one of its best years ever. Two of its films ( One Battle After Another and Sinners) are front-runners for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and it had a string of critical hits and box-office successes with Superman, Weapons, and A Minecraft Movie. But the company is a media conglomerate that counts HBO and CNN among the brands it owns, and it took on lots of debt;"
"The bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery is a business story that morphed into a future-of-entertainment story and then recently took an ominous turn into politics. President Donald Trump weighed in, saying he would be "involved" in deciding who wins, which put every party on alert that Trump might be particularly watching what happens to CNN, a cable network he has called "the least trusted name in news" and a "political arm of the Democrat Party.""
Warner Bros. Discovery achieved major box-office and awards successes in 2025, with two Best Picture front-runners and several commercial hits. The company also carries substantial debt and owns major brands including HBO and CNN, so film profits alone did not resolve its financial problems. The company was placed up for auction, producing competitive bids and a process Netflix formally won while Paramount mounted a hostile bid backed by Larry Ellison's personal guarantee. The bidding transformed into a political flashpoint after President Trump said he would be "involved," signaling particular interest in CNN's ownership and potential interference concerns.
Read at The Atlantic
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