David Ellison Says Paramount-WBD Lawsuit Is About CNN, Shares His Politics
"I do not aspire to lead these companies to bend their newsrooms to my views," the executive says in a New York Times op-ed The post David Ellison Says Paramount-WBD Lawsuit Is About CNN, Shares His Politics appeared first on TheWrap .
Paramount CEO David Ellison has publicly criticized an antitrust lawsuit challenging his planned $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, claiming the case is really about politics and CNN. In a New York Times op-ed, Ellison argued that a news executive should not interfere with media decisions, especially concerning their own company.
He expressed surprise at the silence he maintained while others speculated about the deal's potential impact on Hollywood. Ellison pointed out that the merger would only command less than 20% of American watch time and a smaller share of the domestic box office and streaming market compared to competitors like Netflix, Apple, and Amazon.
He also emphasized that the combined entity would account for 18% of the domestic box office over the past year and 22% on average over the past two years. Ellison maintained that his lawsuit was not about market share but about his ability to lead Warner's CNN as its steward. He revealed that he supports candidates from both political parties, asserting that CNN would remain unbiased and accountable to its audience.
Ellison concluded by stating that journalism from real reporters is crucial in the current era of machine-generated content and partisan narratives.
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