Should 21st Century Fox succeed in its attempt to buy Time Warner, CNN will likely be sold, media watchers said Wednesday.
There is little chance regulators would allow both Fox News Channel and CNN to operate under the same corporate ownership.
A possible sale of CNN got tongues wagging about the most likely buyers of the once-mighty cable news network. Here are the media companies most likely to end up with the Jeff Zucker-led CNN, according to media insiders:
♦ Disney’s ABC Network was high on the list. It has a big news division and no cable news operation. It could benefit from CNN’s global reach and its affiliate fees to offset its high costs.
Reps for ABC declined to comment.
♦ CBS was also mentioned for many of the same reasons as ABC. CNN’s global revenue is estimated at $1.1 billion, according to a March study from Pew Research. Variety put CNN’s US ad revenue at $319 million in 2013.
CNN could fetch as much as $8 billion, according to reports.
♦ While Discovery Communications has been tipped as an interested party, insiders thought it unlikely since news is so perishable, versus the firm’s giant factual program library.
Some joked Wednesday that CNN founder Ted Turner might be a potential buyer.
He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.