Paramount Clears Final Hurdle to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount cleared the final hurdle to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) after resolving an antitrust lawsuit delaying the acquisition.

For Context: Paramount in December launched what some called a "hostile bid" for WBD to outbid Netflix and is now set to pay $111 billion. The ordeal until Monday was stuck in litigation, with a coalition of 12 states trying to stop the deal from occurring. Paramount CEO David Ellison is expected to take control of all WBD's assets by early October, including CNN News (Lean Left bias).

RELATED: Paramount-Warner Bros Merger Could Put Bari Weiss In Charge of CNN

"Cooler Heads Have Prevailed": The New York Post (Right) editorial board said the "deal is going through—and that's a good thing," adding that the "unnecessary Paramount drama" is a "Hollywood happy ending." The board highlighted that "Left-wing activists are upset," saying "It's ironic that the same crowd that accuses President Donald Trump of trying to control the media by pulling White House access wants to control the media by controlling who owns what." According to the article, "cooler heads have prevailed, showing California still has some common sense and good will, even if they take a while to turn up."

"Reason To Worry": Opinion writer Brian Steinberg for Variety (Lean Left) said CNN staffers "thought the news giant's path to the future was becoming more clear," until a "new fog" Steinberg called the win by Paramount "set in." While "linear ratings are down noticeably from the era when it [CNN] won notice for its aggressive coverage of President Trump's first term," Steinberg asserted that the "outlet appeared to have found its groove" in recent weeks. Steinberg cited Paramount's "controversial" management of CBS News, saying it "has not been good for the business of the news unit" and gives CNN personnel "reason to worry." Since Bari Weiss took over CBS as editor in chief Steinberg explained, there has been "unnecessary scrutiny to news reports, and anchors have made public entreaties on Instagram when people post notes suggesting that Weiss' background as a digital entrepreneur and provocative opinion writer have [sic] muddied the newsgathering network."

RELATED: The Insight: Is CBS Becoming Right-wing?

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