Media mogul Barry Diller has reiterated his interest in acquiring CNN, stating he would buy the news network "tonight and tomorrow night." Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything Festival, Diller said he wants to act "before they ruin it any further" and "hopefully before it's extinct."
Diller, 85, described CNN as "so ripe" for innovation, noting that while the network has invested in becoming a digital property, it needs more investment in its on-air programming. He acknowledged the challenges of navigating the current media landscape, saying, "So how they do that and navigate also running the surviving businesses…I don't know."
CNN is currently owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which is in the process of being acquired by Paramount in an $81 billion deal. Diller warned that if the merger goes through, the cuts will be a "savage process."
Diller is no stranger to restructuring. His company, IAC, is renaming itself People Inc. and making significant cuts, including layoffs affecting several dozen corporate staffers, generating $40 million in annual cost savings. In a memo to staff, Diller said he plans to continue as Chairman and Senior Executive, serving as "an advisor, instigator, stimulus, and sometimes irritant."
The comments come amid broader struggles for traditional news outlets, with critics noting that cable news has lost relevance to social media and that networks like CNN face trust issues and declining viewership.
