Mark Thompson will stay on as chairman and editor-in-chief of CNN as the Ellison family takes control of the network's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The announcement came Monday morning as Skydance — the name of the combined Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery — unveiled its leadership team, one day before the merger takes effect on Tuesday, October 6. Thompson will report directly to chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
The deal carries an equity value of roughly $81 billion, about $110 billion including Warner Bros. Discovery's debt. Once closed, it will bring Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., Paramount+ and HBO Max, and the CBS News and CNN newsrooms under one corporate roof — an extraordinary concentration of studios, franchises, and national news assets.
Thompson has led CNN for the past three years after running the BBC and The New York Times Co., joining CNN in 2023. His current contract expires in the spring, and he has been in talks to renew it. The Wall Street Journal first reported that David Ellison had personally asked Thompson to stay, a move that augured stability for CNN at a volatile moment for the news business.
In a memo to CNN staffers on Monday, Thompson wrote that he was convinced the new leadership "really does believe in news alongside entertainment as a top strategic opportunity for our new company." He added that, having spoken with them at length, he had "real confidence that they both understand and will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for."
He said he would lead CNN into its new chapter "as an independent editor-in-chief with the same responsibilities and prerogatives that I have now," while acknowledging that many staffers — and, he admitted, he himself at moments — had felt trepidation about the change of ownership.
The leadership announcement also confirmed that Bari Weiss will remain editor-in-chief of CBS News, ending speculation that she might be given authority over both news divisions. Both Thompson and Weiss will report directly to Ellison and Kreiz.
Kreiz, the outgoing CEO of Mattel, will handle day-to-day management and integration of the combined businesses, while Ellison focuses on long-term strategy, creative vision, talent relationships, and capital allocation. Paramount operating chief Andy Gordon will serve as president of the combined company, and finance chief Dennis Cinelli keeps his role.
The merger had been stalled for months by an antitrust lawsuit. On September 21, Paramount reached a settlement with a California-led group of 12 state attorneys general who had sued to block the deal, arguing it would create a media giant capable of driving up film and television prices. A federal judge approved the settlement last week, clearing the way for the October 6 close.
Under the settlement, the combined company must establish an independent News Editorial Independence Board to safeguard editorial autonomy and fact-based reporting standards at CBS News and CNN — a condition closely tied to the editorial-independence guarantees Thompson sought during his contract talks.
Needham analyst Laura Martin has estimated that integrating Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery into Skydance could take between two and three years. The company has said it aims to realize $6 billion in cost savings within three years of closing.
For CNN, open questions remain: Thompson's contract renewal is not yet finalized, and the specifics of how CNN and CBS News will coexist under one owner are still being worked out. But on day one of the new era, CNN's editorial leadership stays exactly where it was.