AT&T won't sell CNN after buying its parent company, Time Warner, according to AT&T Entertainment Group head John Stankey, despite reports that circulated Monday.
Deadline Hollywood reported that once the Justice Department signs off on Time Warner's sale, AT&T is looking to offload CNN and celebrity news website TMZ, with CBS as a possible buyer for the network.
The incoming head of Time Warner told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview released Tuesday that he views news, like sports, as unique, urgent content that can be watched on a number of different devices.
"It would be a strategically missed opportunity if we weren't in that business," he said, adding that CNN's editorial independence will not change with the acquisition, saying, "You can't run a national news organization with that importance to our society without maintaining its editorial independence."
Stankey also denied rumors that AT&T hired a firm to find an executive that would work under him to oversee Time Warner assets, saying "unequivocally no," and saying those reports are "entirely inaccurate and untrue."
He added that "Because this is a vertical deal with no overlap in our businesses, you won't see layoffs, with a few exceptions of duplication at the corporate level. We want those people [at Time Warner] to be around."
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