5 Challenges David Ellison Faces as He Snags His Hollywood Prize
At media companies, the old saw about news divisions is that they are a small portion of revenue but a big portion of headaches. CNN is no exception.
The news network is profitable (on track to net $650 million this year), but it is also a favorite target of President Trump, who for years has accused CNN of bias and last month barred its journalists from the White House pool. Mr. Ellison moved to avoid a public debate about CNN’s editorial direction by negotiating to keep its current leader, Mark Thompson, in place.
Still, hurdles remain. CNN’s viewership has fallen behind MS NOW, and its digital offerings are still in the infancy phase. (Fox News is ahead of both.) A subscription news service, which Mr. Thompson started, is expanding to Britain and Canada, but the network has shared few details about the number of paying users. Skydance could nurture this subscription model or take a cue from David Zaslav, the former chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, who eliminated CNN+ just three weeks after it started.
Skeptics will also be watching to see if Mr. Ellison — who has hosted a dinner for Mr. Trump and has hobnobbed with the president at U.F.C. matches — puts a thumb on the editorial scale. For now, Mr. Ellison has walled off CNN from Bari Weiss, his pick to oversee CBS News, although that is subject to change. Ms. Weiss, a critic of the mainstream media, has been accused by several “60 Minutes” correspondents of meddling with their reports. CBS has denied those claims.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/business/media/5-challenges-david-ellison-faces-as-he-snags-his-hollywood-prize.html