Newsmax's Rob Schmitt and conservative podcaster Trish Regan said Friday that Paramount Skydance's agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion marks a major shift in the media landscape.
They said the agreement adds to the Ellison family's growing portfolio after its purchase of Paramount Global less than a year ago.
Schmitt, host of "Rob Schmitt Tonight," framed the transaction, which followed Netflix's decision to bow out of bidding for Warner Bros. on Thursday, as transformative for the industry.
"In other news, there is about to be an even bigger reckoning in the media landscape in this country," Schmitt said.
He noted that Oracle founder Larry Ellison and his son David previously bought Paramount Global and now are "on the cusp of now acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery as well."
With Netflix out, he said, "The Ellisons will now own two of the big five movie studios in Hollywood," adding that they will "also own CNN as well, a flailing cable network whose ratings have plunged in recent years."
Schmitt said the $110 billion purchase price represents "about half of Larry Ellison's net worth he's risking in this deal."
Describing the reaction at CNN, Schmitt said: "After it became clear that CNN will fall into the hands of David Ellison, my phone started lighting up.
"I got a bunch of text messages just kind of at once, you know, people saying things like, we are doomed.
"You know, we are effed up. Everyone is reeling.
"You know, the panic is off the charts. He will completely warp the DNA of CNN."
Schmitt argued the move would shift major media brands back toward the political center.
"In reality, what's happening is the Ellisons are simply bringing Hollywood and our news media back from the brink," he said. "The Ellisons are hoping to drag these institutions back toward the middle before our country self-destructs."
He added that CBS programming has already changed direction under Ellison ownership.
"It's not Trump propaganda. It's just less full-throttle anti-Trump than it was. It's less left-wing," Schmitt said.
"Of course, it's becoming an actual news product again, like it was in the days of Cronkite and no longer a propaganda arm of the Democrat Party."
Turning to Regan, Schmitt said the consolidation would encompass Paramount, Warner, CNN, Showtime, CBS, and HBO Max, telling her: "All of this has been leaning hard left for a very long time. And it's all about to shift."
Regan described the deal as consequential for the industry.
"It's huge. This is massive. It's going to be a huge, huge company. And I think it's exciting," she said.
Regan said sources familiar with David Ellison's thinking portray him as focused on innovation.
"My sources that know David Ellison well have reported to me. The guy is smart, he's brilliant, and he thinks about entertainment news and Hollywood entertainment in a very different kind of way because he wants to bring in and usher in this age of technology," she said.
She argued that programming decisions also must reflect audience demand.
"For example, in terms of the wokeism, you've got to get the wokeism stuff out. It's really not profitable, let's be honest," Regan said. "You get half the country, for goodness' sakes, that voted Donald Trump into office for a reason.
"So, you can't just shut out the other side.
"You've got to offer something for everyone. You've got to be more temperate in how you approach things."
Regan said technological innovation could reshape both entertainment and news.
"I mean, you think about everything that's happening with AI," she said. "What about taking people actually to the State of the Union? Have you tried on those goggles that they have at Apple nowadays?
"I tried them on. I thought, wow, this is amazing because you're going to go right to the stadium, for example, for a sporting event.
"Or if you're CNN, what if you could take people to the front lines of Gaza? What if you could take them right to Ukraine, not just take them in their living room by bringing the story to them, but actually take them there?"
Regan pointed to competitive pressures in media.
"Market forces have shown that you look at the success of Newsmax, or the success of my podcast and the success of alternative media," she said. "David Ellison is going to save them from themselves, frankly, because on this current trajectory, they're just going to, you know, get themselves right out of business quite quickly."
She added: "I'm excited by the fact that they can't. I mean, I know they still keep trying, but, you know, you're out there, I'm out there.
"We've got a lot of people that care passionately about making sure that truth is available to people, and they're going out there and they're saying, to heck with CNN. I'm just turning it off."
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