The Ellisons family looking to have ownership of all these media outlets, CBS, HBO, Warner Bros. & CNN, (already own the Mavs and more)
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David Ellison's Paramount is attempting to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the media conglomerate that owns HBO, Warner Bros., and CNN
. This follows his family's recent acquisition of Paramount Global, which includes CBS. Oracle founder Larry Ellison is financing his son David Ellison's deals. The moves have spurred concern over media consolidation and the potential for a shift in political leaning for major news outlets.
Acquisition of CBS (part of Paramount Global)
The Ellison family has also been linked to other major media ventures:
A successful acquisition of WBD would have several major implications:
. This follows his family's recent acquisition of Paramount Global, which includes CBS. Oracle founder Larry Ellison is financing his son David Ellison's deals. The moves have spurred concern over media consolidation and the potential for a shift in political leaning for major news outlets.
Acquisition of CBS (part of Paramount Global)
- In August 2025, David Ellison's Skydance Media completed an $8 billion deal to merge with Paramount Global.
- The merger gave the Ellison family control of Paramount's assets, which include the CBS broadcast network and CBS News.
- Concerns over political influence arose after the Ellisons installed a conservative ombudsman and appointed former New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News.
- Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD): Following the Paramount deal, reports emerged in September 2025 that David Ellison and Paramount were preparing a cash bid for WBD. The acquisition would unite two of Hollywood's biggest legacy studios and two major news networks, CBS and CNN.
- WBD's resistance: The WBD board rejected an initial offer of around $20 per share in October 2025, calling it too low. Despite the rejection, Paramount is reportedly preparing a revised bid.
- Strategic hurdles: WBD's current leadership plans to split the company in 2026, which may complicate the merger efforts. However, the Ellisons and Paramount are reportedly trying to finalize a deal before the company is split.
The Ellison family has also been linked to other major media ventures:
- TikTok: The Ellisons, with Oracle as a key partner, have long been involved in a consortium pursuing TikTok's U.S. operations, a deal that could grant them influence over the popular social media platform.
- UFC: In August 2025, Paramount signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
A successful acquisition of WBD would have several major implications:
- Shift in media power: The deal would give the Ellisons unprecedented control over a vast array of major American news and entertainment assets, prompting concerns over the concentration of media ownership.
- Increased consolidation: The combination of two major legacy media companies signals a new wave of consolidation in Hollywood, following years of disruption by streaming services.
- Regulatory scrutiny: A deal combining CBS News and CNN would likely attract intense scrutiny from antitrust regulators. Some analysts have noted that under the Trump administration, the Ellisons might face less resistance than with previous regulators.
- Content and political bias: Some observers are concerned that the Ellisons, who are seen as allies of Donald Trump, could introduce a political bias to these media outlets, similar to the perception surrounding Fox News.
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