‘One Family Is About to Control CBS, CNN, HBO, and TikTok’: Alarm Grows Over Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger | Common Dreams
A single billionaire family’s expanding grip over major U.S. media outlets tests the democratic norm that information power should not be consolidated into politically pliant hands.
Feb 27, 2026
Sources
Summary
Paramount Skydance is increasingly likely to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix dropped its bid. The possible consolidation would place major news and entertainment outlets under a single family’s control, intensifying pressure for antitrust intervention and state challenges. The practical consequence is a tighter choke point over what our country sees, hears, and debates, with fears of censorship and politically motivated programming decisions.
Reality Check
When a small number of private actors can consolidate control over the public’s information channels, our democratic guardrails weaken because accountability depends on independent scrutiny and diverse platforms. The precedent being normalized is that concentrated media ownership can be leveraged through programming choices and access decisions that shape political visibility. Even without government action, this kind of consolidation conditions the public to accept fewer independent gatekeepers and a narrower space for dissent, making future abuses harder to detect and resist.
Media
Detail
<p>Paramount Skydance, controlled by the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, is positioned to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix announced it was dropping its previously accepted bid to buy Warner. Critics called for antitrust laws to be used to block the Paramount-Warner merger.</p><p>Former Federal Trade Commission commissioner Alvaro Bedoya warned that the Ellison family could use control of large media holdings to engage in censorship, citing decisions described as canceling Stephen Colbert’s program and refusing to air an interview with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. Bedoya claimed the purchase would involve $24 billion from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.</p><p>Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron said the merger would expand billionaire control over news coverage, TV stations, and studios and could lead to deep cuts. Writing in the <em>American Prospect</em>, David Dayen said state governments could still challenge the merger and warned that consultants were attempting to finalize the deal within weeks, making later unwinding difficult due to commingled assets and layoffs.</p><p>Sen. Ruben Gallego and Sen. Chris Murphy said Democrats would seek to break up such media conglomerates if they regain power.</p>