Larry Ellison, the largest shareholder of Paramount, reportedly had discussions with the Trump administration about firing CNN hosts the president doesn't like, according to sources close to the matter.
The CNN hosts include Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar, the sources told The Guardian.
Paramount has positioned itself as a potential buyer of Warner Bros Discovery. The sources said part of Paramount's interest lies in the idea that Ellison's closeness to Trump would help the deal pass a regulatory review.
The discussions reportedly included naming possible replacements for Burnett and CBS running its programming, like 60 Minutes, on CNN.
According to the sources, the back-and-forth concerning what Paramount might do if it acquired Warner Bros Discovery were largely casual, as Ellison is not an executive at the company. His son, David Ellison, is the CEO of Paramount Skydance.
The Independent has requested comment from Ellison, Paramount, and the White House.
Paramount has previously submitted multiple unsolicited and unsuccessful offers to buy Warner Bros Discovery.
Trump has been happy with the younger Ellison at the helm of Paramount Skydance and thus CBS News. Paramount agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to Trump over a 60 Minutes interview involving former Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
In addition to paying Trump the settlement, CBS News also placed conservative commenter Bari Weiss at the head of its news division.
Should Warner Bros Discovery accept a purchase offer from Paramount, the only real hurdle the deal will face is an anti-trust review, which a former anti-trust division official told The Guardian was unlikely to kill the deal.
“This won’t pose serious antitrust issues,” the former official said, noting that the White House likely wouldn't try to stop the deal. “That’s just how the government relations game is played."
However, Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said such a deal was not likely require any review by his agency.
“I’d be very surprised if there was an FCC role at all in that type of transaction,” Carr said.
Paramount is not the only company interested in acquiring Warner Bros Discovery. Netflix and Comcast have both expressed interest in the acquisition.
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