CNN host Jake Tapper’s reaction summed it up on Thursday when he told viewers the future of the network was affected by the decision of Netflix to back out of buying the cable channel’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
“We have some breaking news in our national lead that affects everybody I’m looking at right now in the studio,” he said as he turned his head to look around the room.
“Moments ago, Netflix said it is declining to raise its offer for the purchase of Warner Bros. Studios and HBO, following the Warner Bros. Discovery board’s determination that Paramount, which is not just going for Warner Bros. Studios and HBO, but also the whole enchilada, including us here at CNN.
“Paramount has submitted a superior offer, according to Warner Bros. Discovery’s board. As I’ve noted, Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.”
Netflix dropped its bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Thursday after the company announced Paramount’s latest bid to buy all of its assets, including CNN, was “superior.”
The sale would put Paramount CEO David Ellison in charge of CNN. Ellison has a close relationship with President Donald Trump and has angered liberals for installing Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
The mood inside CNN was “horrific” on Friday as network leadership sought to calm fears of anxious staffers worried about the possible corporate merger.
NETFLIX BACKS OUT OF WARNER BROS BIDDING WAR AFTER PARAMOUNT MADE ‘SUPERIOR’ OFFER
“The mood is horrific,” a CNN insider told Fox News Digital. “People are very upset.”
A second CNN insider said staffers feel “a mix of despair, apprehension and curiosity.”
“Look, I think this is a place that has gone through a lot. A lot of mergers in the past decade. A lot of ‘fresh’ starts,” the insider said.
“I think there is an underlying fear of mixing two news divisions. Who is gonna get canned?”
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While most corporate mergers of this magnitude come with headcount reductions, many CNN staffers are well aware that CBS News has undergone both layoffs and directional changes since Ellison took over last year.
Weiss, who was handpicked by Ellison, has bluntly told staffers they are “not producing a product that enough people want.”
She has also taken steps to tamp down the liberal slant that was prominent at CBS News before the Ellison takeover.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Brian Flood contributed to this report.
