What is Trump's interest in Paramount's merger with WB?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The NPR Politics Podcast

Episode: What is Trump's Interest in Paramount's Merger with WB?

Date: August 6, 2026
Host: Tamara Keith
Guests: Mara Liasson (Senior National Political Correspondent), David Folkenflik (NPR Media Correspondent)

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the political and media implications of the massive $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers. With President Trump displaying keen interest—both personal and financial—in the deal, the conversation explores how the merger could reshape the journalism landscape, affect major news organizations like CNN and CBS, and signal a broader battle between the presidency and the press.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Paramount-Warner Merger: Scale and Stakes

• Overview of the Merger
  • Brings together Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers Studios, HBO, Showtime, CBS, CNN, plus major streaming services (Paramount+ and HBO Max) under the Ellison family (David and Larry Ellison).
  • Described as "an extraordinary constellation of entertainment assets" [01:00–01:50].
• Motivation Behind the Merger
  • The drive for scale is to compete with tech giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple.
  • Echoes Disney’s acquisition of Fox assets, reflecting industry urgency around streaming competition [02:05–03:19].

Trump’s Involvement: Personal and Political

• Financial Interest
  • Trump invested in both companies while his own Administration’s DOJ reviewed the merger [03:19–03:50, 13:44–13:56].
• Desire for Influence Over News Coverage
  • Trump openly hopes for a change in CNN’s editorial direction with new ownership.
  • Notable quote during a CNN pool spray with Kaitlan Collins:

    "CNN does such false reporting, but now they have new ownership, so maybe it'll straighten it out. I doubt it. But it's hard to straighten garbage out."
    — Donald Trump [04:03]

• Ellisons’ Relationship with Trump
  • Larry Ellison has advised Trump and donated to his campaigns.
  • David Ellison has publicly pledged journalistic integrity but hasn't fully addressed his father’s ties or recent editorial appointments at CBS [04:42–06:42].
  • Example: CBS News appointed an editor-in-chief viewed as sympathetic to Trump’s complaints about news bias [11:59–13:44].

Legal and Regulatory Landscape

• U.S. Antitrust Concerns
  • Democratic state attorneys general are suing, citing monopolistic consolidation and job losses [06:42–07:16].
  • Ellison family argues suits are politically motivated, not just antitrust [07:01].
• International & Federal Reviews
  • British regulators approved the merger but required strong editorial independence concessions through 2034 [04:42–06:42].
  • U.S. DOJ “waved it through” with minimal concessions—a “matador treatment” [08:19–10:19].
  • FCC involvement due to Paramount’s TV licenses and foreign investment review; FCC chair supportive and close to Trump [08:39–10:06].
  • Delays cost Paramount $7 million/day, possibly $1.5 billion if delayed till March 2027 [07:17–08:19].

Shifting Media Landscape and Political Leverage

• Trump’s Media Tactics
  • Has made aggressive use of regulatory and legal levers to reward friendly media owners and punish opponents (e.g., leveraging cloud contracts, merger approvals) [13:44–19:10].
  • Sought favorable coverage through business deals; willing to influence editorial appointments.
• Media Under Pressure
  • Financial, technological, and political pressure threaten journalistic independence.
  • Increased lawsuits against media from Trump; public/media trust declining [14:01–16:18].
• Comparison to First Trump Term
  • Media landscape more embattled now, with government influence on media companies accelerating [15:54–19:10].
  • Quote:

    "The speed at which these big corporations and the titans of capitalism were willing to accept government control or government influence was pretty stunning."
    — Mara Liasson [19:11]

• Broader Democratic Worries
  • Podcast draws parallels to trends in authoritarian states, where business and government collusion undermines democratic institutions [19:11–19:47].
  • Notable closing reflection:

    "Figures over major media properties right now, as is true in the tech world, are yielding to power."
    — David Folkenflik [19:47]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Trump on CNN Ownership (to Kaitlan Collins):
  "CNN does such false reporting, but now they have new ownership, so maybe it'll straighten it out. I doubt it. But it's hard to straighten garbage out." [04:03]

• David Folkenflik on Ellisons’ fine line:
  "Larry and David Ellison have not been subtle, because they can't be, in appealing to President Trump…” [04:42]

• Matador Metaphor:
  "You wave the cape and let the bull with the horns just run right through." — David Folkenflik, describing the DOJ’s regulatory approach [10:13]

• Institutional Weakness:
  "Figures over major media properties right now... are yielding to power. And it may well prove to be less partisan, less ideological than more just sort of a kind of weakness in the face of… somebody in the Oval Office willing to exercise all the levers available to him." — David Folkenflik [19:47]

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Timestamps by Topic

• The scale and assets of the merger: [01:00–01:50]
• Motivations for merging (streaming wars): [02:05–03:19]
• Trump's investment and desire for pro-Trump coverage: [03:19–04:42]
• CNN/Kaitlan Collins quote: [04:03]
• Ellison’s relationships with Trump and editorial changes: [04:42–06:42, 11:59–13:44]
• Regulatory hurdles and DOJ’s “matador” approach: [08:19–10:19]
• Discussion on the declining state of trust and finances in media: [14:01–16:18]
• Comparisons to global trends/authoritarian slide: [19:11–19:47]

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Conclusion

The episode masterfully connects the business logic behind the Paramount-Warner merger with the political power games surrounding media ownership in the Trump era. By unpacking Trump’s personal, financial, and political motivations, and the willingness of media titans to appease the administration, the hosts paint a vivid picture of how democracy, journalism, and business are colliding in unprecedented ways.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

the planned merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers. It's a massive business transaction worth $111 billion. There's a Hollywood angle, there's a media angle, but it's also just a fascinating episode in the ongoing battle between the president and the press. It's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics.

[C]

I'm Mara Liasson, senior national political correspondent.

[B]

And we also have NPR media correspondent David Folkenflick here with us today. Hey, David.

[D]

Hey, guys.

[B]

David, you have been covering this merger through all the ins and outs, but this is the first time we're talking about it on the pod. So what do we need to know?

[D]

So, I mean, it's just an extraordinary effort to bring together these two Hollywood titans, right? These great names that have echoed for a century in Hollywood. Think of under the same roof. You would have Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers Studios, HBO and Showtime. You'd have Paramount plus and HBO Max as streamers, and you'd have the nation's most watched broadcast TV network in CBS, under the same roof as like 50 plus basic cable channels. There are probably a whole bunch of other units I'm not even mentioning, but it is an extraordinary constellation of entertainment assets that would all be under the Ellison family. And CBS News and CNN would be under under the same roof and presumably to some degree, significantly integrated.

[B]

Journalism tightens right there. We should note that Paramount CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers Pictures and Warner Brothers Discovery are financial supporters of npr. So, David, why do these titans want to merge?

[D]

So Paramount actually was part of an $8 billion deal just approved by the Trump administration a year ago. They were taken over by David Ellison, who had run Skydance Media, Hollywood producer who'd done Mission Impossible movies, among others. And really the money behind him is Larry Ellison, who's the co founder of Oracle and one of the wealthiest people walking the planet. So they want in short time to take over not only Paramount, which they did in just an $8 billion deal, and now in Warner in a deal valued at $111 billion. And they're making the argument that they need this scale. They need this scale not to compete just in Hollywood, but compete against the new titans of the entertainment field and those digital titans. So you're thinking about Netflix. You're talking about Amazon, and you're talking about Apple. And they say we need this scale to fight the streamers. Just as Disney got approval during the first Trump administration to buy most of Fox's Hollywood assets because they saw the streaming threat coming. Right now, Paramount and Warner, you know, with Paramount plus and HBO Max are looking to their digital competitors and saying, we're gonna have real trouble winning this alone.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

And you know what's so interesting about this, and the reason why we're talking about it on the politics podcast, not just the merger podcast, is because President Trump has taken a big interest in this merger, not just personally and financially. He actually invested in Paramount and Warner Brothers while his own Department of Justice was looking at the merger, but also because there are two news organizations involved in this merger, CNN and cbs. And President Trump has made it very clear for a very long time that he at least wants to bend the coverage of news networks to be more favorable to him. So he's taken a big interest in this merger. And here he is speaking to Kaitlan Collins, CNN correspondent, in June during an Oval Office pool spray.

[E]

The fake news, like cnn, like the New York Times and like others, have abused our people. Wait a minute. Be quiet. Have abused our people so badly. And you should be ashamed of yourself. You, too. You used to be a conservative. She was a conservative from Alabama. Can you believe it? But CNN in particular, CNN does such false reporting, but now they have new ownership, so maybe it'll straighten it out. I doubt it. But it's hard to straighten garbage out.

[C]

You know, it's pretty clear what Trump wants in this.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, it's truly remarkable to hear him say it out loud to talk about the new ownership and his hopes for the new ownership. David, what does the new ownership say about this?

[D]

Well, they've gotta walk a fine line. Larry and David Ellison have not been subtle, because they can't be subtle in appealing to President Trump in such a way that they're gonna say, we'll be good stewards of CNN in the way that you want us to be. And so, for example, Larry Ellison has been an advisor for Trump on AI issues and other issues. Larry Ellison has given money towards his political races. David Ellison hosted a dinner at the Peace Institute now for the president, which is in some ways supposed to be in honor of the First Amendment, at which Trump was the guest of honor. And yet, publicly, David Ellison says, look, we are trying to remedy the deep plunges in trust the public writ large has in the press and we're trying to restore that in how we approach the news. He wrote an op ed this week saying that his interest was in making sure he never put a finger on the scale that he has supported Republicans and Democrats and he just wants to restore trust. But what he hasn't done is really talk about his father's relationship to the president or the moves that he has made at CBS in the brief time in which he has owned and controlled that network. And I mentioned all the assets that are underneath the same roof. But of course CBS News and CNN would be under the same roof as well. And they have not signaled exactly what they're going to do. If you think about how Trump has weighed in just the clip that Mara played for us there about this, he's eager for CNN to be under the Ellison's control. British regulators just this week approved the merger but won a series of concessions about the way in which the news operations there and certain kinds of British entertainment properties that they would control there if the merger goes through, would operate through the end of 2034. The Trump administration offered kind of a matador defense. It has waved it through all but entirely without a single known concession so far.

[C]

Well, then you have some lawsuits in the United States. Democratic states attorney general are suing about this merger. Now, they say that this lawsuit is a meat and potatoes antitrust suit. In other words, very simple. It's about monopolistic control, consolidation, loss of jobs.

[D]

Ellison argues that the legal challenges are about politics and not about what the stated antitrust concerns that are the core of the lawsuit there.

[C]

Well, I think Democrats would agree with them. It's definitely about politics.

[D]

You know, the Democrats would claim both and are claiming both.

[C]

Yeah, sure, sure.

[D]

It is a question about how, you know, from a legal standpoint, it's a question of how you're defining the marketplace. Are we really talking about Hollywood or are we talking about all the different opportunities to divert people's attention through entertainment, through streaming platforms and other means? In reality, you know, Ellison both is accusing his critics of politics and not acknowledging the way in which politics has informed his own approach to trying to make get this $111 billion deal across the line and it's gonna be a long and extended court challenge if they can't find a way to resolve the concerns of the Democratic attorneys general. And the Ellison's pushing for this to be cited real quickly because it costs them money every day past September 30 that it is delayed. They have to pay Warner Brothers discovery shareholders about $7 million a day. The judge has delayed it to March of next year which is going to be about a $1.5 billion hit for Paramount just on that delay alone.

[B]

David, you mentioned British regulators. When a merger happens, a really big merger between major companies, often there are regulatory sign offs required, there are questions about antitrust or monopoly practices. So what happened in this case?

[D]

So you're absolute absolutely right. In this country there have to be antitrust reviews on things like this. And it was taken up by two major government agencies. One is the Department of Justice Antitrust Division which gave it a green light. The Wall Street Journal reported in fact that that decision was made by senior Justice Department officials at the political levels, not the non political professionals within the antitrust division. The recently stepped down head of the Antitrust division has denied that, but noneth nonetheless the idea that the Journal is reporting is that the decision was made, if anything prematurely by the top officials to prevent the nonpartisan lawyers from deciding they wanted the administration actually to intervene to either require concessions or to prevent this from going through. Secondarily there's the Federal Communications Commission and it's only involved not because of Warner Brother Discovery's assets, but because Paramount itself owns a couple dozen television stations. And the new merger would require a significant infusion of foreign investment. And that foreign investment in the broadcast local TV licenses held by Paramount requires review. The FCC hasn't yet given the okay on that. But interestingly the head of the FCC who has worked very closely with President Trump on his media priorities, has signaled that he, you know, supports this deal.

[C]

David, is that what you meant earlier when you said this was a matador treatment, just waving them through, Waving the bull through with the cape.

[D]

You wave the cape and let the bull with the horns just run right through.

[C]

Yeah, I'd never heard that before but that is a great metaphor.

[B]

It is a good image. All right, well we are going to take a quick break and we'll be back in a moment.

[A]

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[B]

and we're back and we started to talk about this a little bit earlier, but I want to dig in on it more about how President Trump is involved in this merger. So what is his involvement? David?

[D]

So Trump is just, you know, first off, talked about it. He has talked about the idea, particularly that cnn, owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, needs new ownership. And he has trashed CNN repeatedly, as we heard, but not just then. He has a close relationship with Larry Ellison, whom, you know, as we've reported, has been an advisor of Trump, has been a financial backer. Trump, Trump basically arranged a sale of TikTok, operating in the US to a consortium that's effectively controlled by Ellison and for which his company, Oracle, is sort of a dominant player. You know. And so they essentially have been intertwined, you know, Ellison promoting Trump's political interests and Trump promoting Ellison's business interests. So you've seen that happen. You've seen David Ellison make gestures and concessions to Trump's regulators in taking over Paramount and cbs in particular, appointing an editor in chief over CBS News who believes that much of the mainstream media is too reflexively hostile to Trump, too anti Israel and too reflexively woke. And that was taken as a sign both of embodying promises and principles set out in getting the Trump administration's approval for this, the takeover of Paramount a year ago and also signaling what he'd be interested in doing with CNN as he seeks to do this much bigger takeover. So that is the state of play and that's why Trump's involved and that's why it's front of mind for Trump. He, of course, cares. He always talks about how the media is failing and he doesn't care. He is deeply invested in understanding how the media works and in helping to dictate and control it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And get more favorable coverage. Not to mention that he invested in these companies as he was, as his own administration was looking at the merger.

[D]

Extraordinary.

[C]

So he has a personal financial interest.

[B]

Mara, you know, President Trump is not entirely wrong that the media is failing.

[C]

When you say failing as in failing financially.

[B]

There are financial concerns. There are. There are issues with trust.

[C]

Well, sure. Just like every other institution in America, there's no doubt that the media has the media writ large. And the media is not one behemoth thing. But, yes, it's struggling. It's struggling with new technologies. It's struggling with the fact that people are losing faith in all institutions, all democratic institutions in this country. But. So he had a fertile field to plow there. But don't forget, he's been talking about fake news, and you could translate that to news I don't like. He's been doing this ever since he started running 11 years ago. So this is part of a project, and he's been very successful at it. I mean, he said the media was too left and, and, and fake and not friendly enough to him. And slowly but surely, it's changing and it's getting more friendly to him. There are some interesting examples where it's not completely 100. Rupert Murdoch is one of them. He owns Fox News, which is a pretty pro Trump outfit. Now, I full disclosure, I was on Fox News as a contributor for 25 years, until June of 2023. However, Rupert Murdoch also owns the Wall Street Journal, which has not only broken a lot of stories about the Trump administration that Trump did not want to see in the paper, but Murdoch also famously buried the announcement of Trump's run in 2024 on something like page 16 of the new York Post, where he said, florida man announces for president. So. So it's. It can be complicated, but. But overall, I think that Trump has been successful at trying to change the media, just like he's trying to change our form of government in other ways. And in this case, he's talking about straightening out the media. You heard him castigating Kaitlan Collins.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, David, this doesn't happen in isolation. There are more lawsuits than I have the breath to talk about filed by the president against these news organizations. Some organizations have settled with him. Really does feel like 2025, 2026 is different from 2017, 2018, when Trump was first in office.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

The funny thing is, I might take issue, in some ways the idea that the media is failing, but the media is under unbelievable pressure. And it's financial, it's technological, it's the ways in which consumers absorb news and entertainment and information and their interest in it. And it's also the government pressure, which is just extraordinary. And I think that if you think of how the Press operated in 2016, 2017. I actually think the press is more responsible now. It was in some ways more hysterical about what Trump was doing at times, because what he did was unprecedented and it didn't know how to absorb it. And at times, I don't feel that even mainstream news organizations did great in sifting through and fact checking and verifying all the allegations against him because so many crazily, you know, seemingly crazy allegations against him turned out to be true or at least have credibility to them. I think the accountability journalism going on now is tighter and tougher and smarter. And yet he has been emboldened in his return to office in January of last year to, as you say, use the courts as a private citizen to go after almost every major news outlet you can think of, use the levers of power of government to go after public media specifically because he doesn't like its coverage, using the levers of power to reward those that he would feel fits with his agenda through approval of major deals like this one. When Fox in his first term, and the Murdochs, an ally, as much as Rupert Murdoch doesn't respect Trump, he has forged a very good working alliance with Trump when he can. He sold off at a peak point, a bunch of his Hollywood assets to Disney. And Trump's only concern was that he hold on to Fox News so that his ally Rupert would still control Fox News. And Rupert said to him, absolutely, I'm holding onto it. And Trump said, great, you know, God bless, good luck. And that was a call that happened the morning that was announced. That was Trump's only concern. It was essentially waved through. So you're seeing a time at which the. The courts and the levers of government are being used against those who would harm him. You're seeing Jeff Bezos, who lost billions of dollars for cloud computing contracts because the Washington Post, which he personally owned, was holding Trump accountable through reporting that Trump didn't like in his first term. Suddenly, Jeff Bezos has totally reinvented the opinion pages of the Washington Post. A blew up a planned endorsement of Trump's foe in 2024. And Bezos is feted by this president. This is which the folks who control the levers of power have enjoyed the fruits of using them in ways that may or may not be in the broader interests of the American people.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And even though the media is not a monolithic thing, what David just described is very, very widespread. And it's also very familiar to people who study how democratic institutions become undermined and a democratic form of government gets turned into something quite different, something more authoritarian, where the government has a lot of control over media because these companies depend on the government for contracts. The speed at which these big corporations and the titans of capitalism were willing to accept government control or government influence was pretty stunning.

[D]

It strikes me that that's one of the signal lessons of our moment, is that both these the figures over major media properties right now, as is true in the tech world, are yielding to power. And it may well prove to be less partisan, less ideological than more just sort of a kind of weakness in the face of, you know, somebody in the Oval Office willing to exercise all the levers available to him.

[B]

I think we're gonna leave it there for now. But thank you so much, David, for joining us on the pod.

[A]

You bet.

[B]

I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics.

[C]

I'm Mara Liaison, senior national political correspondent.

[B]

And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.

[A]

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[D]

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