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Who Will End Up With CNN?

Speculation that Barry Diller had considered buying CNN has set off another wave of panicked fever dreams surrounding the future of the network if or when WBD’s cable portfolio is severed from the Studios and Streaming mothership. Is it all just industry psychobabble, or has Zaz enlisted a pal to help close his deal with Netflix?

Barry Diller
The thoughtful news consumer might ask: Why is Barry Diller’s very casual interest in CNN—which he first expressed last year, and which is very unlikely to manifest as anything real—suddenly materializing as an exclusive in the Journal? As you can imagine, the media elite have their theories. Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Semafor
Dylan Byers
January 30, 2026

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Decades ago, Mike Bloomberg was having breakfast with a friend in Paris when he asked, “Do you think I could buy The New York Times?” His friend told him that the paper wasn’t sold in the hotel, to which Bloomberg offered a clarification: “No, do you think I could buy the Times?”