CNN’s Brief Sigh of Relief

On Friday, after Netflix announced it had won the bidding war to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio business with an $83 billion bid—leaving the cable spinoff out of the deal—a sense of relief spread among CNN staffers.

First, the prospect of a Paramount acquisition, which would potentially result in Bari Weiss’ purview expanding beyond CBS News to CNN, had been at least temporarily forestalled, along with concerns about what The Free Press founder’s leadership would mean. Additionally, given that Netflix had no interest in taking on the baggage of the spinoff’s rapidly declining assets of Discovery Global, the collection of cable networks will remain under the leadership of Gunnar Wiedenfels for the time being. One CNN staffer described it to Status via text as “a release of pent-up anxiety, at least for now.”

As some pundits were quick to point out, sparing CNN from a Paramount deal might amount to little more than a stay of execution. Paramount could still take a run at the cable package, and the prospect of further job cuts lingers, not just for CNN but all the WBD networks, especially without the support of the Warner Bros. studio and the programming options that it provides.

Still, beleaguered employees might be forgiven for happily trading a bad outcome with uncertainty about what comes next. Seemingly mindful of that, CNN chief Mark Thompson sought to assure staffers in a Friday memo obtained by Status, noting that WBD remains committed to the cable business spinoff in 2026, providing the runway to continue his process of seeking to forge a digital future for the network.

“I’ve been asked by many of you what today’s news means for us. And the answer is that it will enable us to continue to roll out our strategy to secure a great future for CNN by successfully navigating our digital transition,” Thompson wrote, adding that both Wiedenfels and WBD boss David Zaslav are “firm backers of the strategy.”

Thompson also revealed that the powers that be have already agreed to increase their investment in the plan, approving a larger budget in the new year, signifying a legitimate commitment to improving the network’s ability to compete in the digital era. The move comes on the heels of CNN’s direct-to-consumer digital product launch in October, as the network attempts to pull off a high-stakes transition from a traditional linear business to a sustainable digital-first model.

Of course, the Netflix deal (which will require a long approval process) will do little to eradicate CNN’s longer-term issues, or skepticism about management doing more than continuing to slash and burn. The cable business is struggling to remain relevant and profitable—an industry-wide problem. At the same time, executives are almost constantly looking for ways to cut costs, leading to a demoralizing cycle of layoffs and talent pay cuts.

There’s understandable fear that Wiedenfels, currently WBD’s chief financial officer, is a numbers guy, not a journalist, who will be more than willing to continue swinging the ax, though Thompson, again, at least sought to allay some of those concerns.

“Gunnar has also talked often in the past about his commitment to CNN’s long tradition of independence,” Thompson wrote.

Still, it’s hard to imagine that Zaslav’s hand-selected spinoff boss, who has built a reputation as a shrewd cost-cutter, won’t maintain the same posture towards restructuring. And as CNN implements Thompson’s digital transition, some staffers on the TV side of the news outlet are bracing for more layoffs.

Meanwhile, being a network within a spinoff company is inherently unpredictable. While it remains unclear what the final goal here is, one has to imagine some sort of acquisition or merger is in Discovery Global’s future, as the cable business continues to fall victim to cord-cutting and other financial headwinds.

The problem faced by WBD’s cable networks—including CNN, TNT, the Discovery Channel, and more—is not unique. Comcast’s cable spinoff, Versant, whose properties include the newly rebranded MS NOW and CNBC, is asking itself similar questions about not just surviving but finding real success and sustainability in this evolving media era.

For all the sighs of relief inside CNN’s Hudson Yards newsroom, Friday’s announcement really just means being granted some additional runway. And the fundamental challenge—the rapidly shrinking linear business—hasn’t been altered, making instability the new normal.

While Netflix might have saved CNN from Weiss, it didn’t stop the clock. And as the media landscape convulses around them, the next chapter in the fight for the network’s future starts now.

The latest episode of Power Lines is out.

In this week’s episode: We discuss Olivia Nuzzi’s media tour and the fallout at Vanity Fair, how the die-hards in MAGA Media have rallied around Pete Hegseth, what the future has in store for Warner Bros. Discovery, Sabrina Carpenter shredding the White House for using her music in an “evil” video, and Dan Bongino melting down on X (again).

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