We have all been watching CNN for decades. At least I have. As a news junkie I was glued to the screen when CNN had its first major global moment in reporting live from the Gulf War. A TV set stood in the main lobby of my university back then. And, of course, I watched CNN on many other occasions that are now history and legendary.
My professional life has also always been intertwined with News TV starting my career in television almost 30 years ago with CNBC and eventually working with my consulting team on clients as widely ranging from Al Jazeera through Bloomberg to ZDF – and in between all kinds of news networks both local and international.
CNN shaped our idea of what a News TV Channel should be. Its name is iconic. At Global Media Consult, we have dissected and admired CNN’s every move. News TV is in our DNA. It’s where we began. It’s what we excel at. Now, we are even more intrigued. CNN is at a critical turning point. This is one of its most significant moments in history.
Rumors are swirling. Warner Bros. Discovery, its current owner, may be preparing to spin CNN off. The logic behind such a move is not just financial (for WarnerBros Discovery it might) but it turns out to be existential. CNN is no longer the anchor it once was for the Warner media empire. Its future is uncertain, its U.S. audience is shrinking, and its role in a polarized, fragmented media landscape has never been harder to define.
However, let us not make the mistake of declaring this moment a death sentence for CNN. On the contrary, I believe in comebacks and support the underdog. Therefore, I have some ideas on how—if approached boldly—this could be CNN’s moment of reinvention.
Before sharing my suggestions on how CNN can overcome this challenge, it is important to first explain the reasons behind its current difficulties.
CNN’s predicament didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of structural shifts, strategic missteps, and a rapidly evolving news ecosystem:
How Did CNN Get Here?
- Cable News is Dying: CNN’s traditional revenue base (cable carriage fees and linear ad spend) is collapsing. They not only lost on Gen Z but on much wider audience segment that doesn’t channel surf anymore. CNN targets a sophisticated viewership that has been open to using new technologies from the start. They scroll, swipe, and stream. The audience is moving faster than CNN’s business model. I never understood how CNN (and many other news channels, for that matter) have always been reluctant to adopt new distribution technologies and digital formats. And I know what I am talking about with all the fights that I had back then in my first role to coax CNBC Europe management into launching a digital TV channel.
- The Trust Crisis: Politically, CNN finds itself in a no-man’s land. Too left-leaning for conservatives. Too corporate and centrist for many progressives. In trying to stay “neutral,” it often comes across as neither bold nor trustworthy. Internationally, it was often seen ‘too American’ and delivering news like fast food. Sensationalism has become more important than good journalism. It has lost its relevance for the audience, and relevance is the ultimate metric that keeps a news channel going. If you become irrelevant to your audience, you enter the zone of death.
- The CNN+ Debacle: Its much-hyped streaming service crashed and burned in weeks. Not because there’s no appetite for digital news, but because the product felt like a repackaging of old logic in a new container. A classic case of strategy disconnected from user behavior.
- Corporate Disinterest: Warner Bros. Discovery is laser-focused on scaling its entertainment and streaming business. In this scenario, CNN feels like the awkward dinner guest: important, yes, but not part of the main course. On top of things, any big media corporation in the USA now thinks more than twice if they want to be associated with a news brand, especially if its one that the Orange Emporer does dislike.
All this adds up to a brand in need of more than a facelift. It needs a reinvention of purpose.
Who Could – and Should – Buy CNN?
Despite all the baggage that CNN has accummulated, I want to be clear: CNN’s brand still holds immense value. It’s global. It’s instantly recognizable. And in many parts of the world, it still commands real trust. But any buyer would need vision and a clear reason for making the acquisition.
But we all love to speculate and it has become a favorite sport in our industry to muse on M&A plays. Hence, I pulled together some thoughts on the most likely and unlikely contenders, with their potential motivations:
1. Bloomberg: The Adult In The Room?
Michael Bloomberg has the brand, the resources, and the appetite. His media empire already commands credibility in financial news; but it lacks a mass-market channel. Buying CNN would immediately make Bloomberg a dominant global voice across both business and general news.
- Strategy: Merge CNN and Bloomberg Media into a two-tiered system: one for the business elite, one for global public audiences. Streaming-first. Global newsroom second. Traditional TV third.
- Upside: Creates a powerhouse that could rival BBC and Al Jazeera in global credibility with U.S. and international authority baked in.
2. Bertelsmann: Europe’s Most Serious Contender
This German media powerhouse owns RTL Group, one of Europe’s largest broadcasters, and has both the capital and the ambition. For years, Bertelsmann has quietly built a media empire that spans publishing, television, and education. CNN could be its global flagship.
- Strategy: Integrate CNN into RTL Group’s digital strategy, localize content across European and global markets, and reposition CNN as a global voice grounded in public trust and European values.
- Upside: Europe finally gets a powerful, internationally recognized counterweight to U.S.-dominated narratives.
3. Bloomberg + Philanthropic Billionaires: A Civic Mission Coalition
This is a variation on No 1. Imagine a media coalition: Bloomberg for business credibility, Laurene Powell Jobs (Emerson Collective) for civic purpose, and the Omidyar Group for transparency and anti-disinformation efforts. Partner with some strong local news outlets around the world; add universities like Havard (Nieman Lab) and premium journalistic groups to it.
Not only that: it would put them squarrely on what Elon Musk did with Twitter and can be Michael Bloombergs legacy to the world – especially when he turns CNN into a more philantrophical service of indepth global journalism
- Strategy: Rebuild CNN as a public-interest, non-profit hybrid. Think The Guardian meets Netflix: deep reporting, trust-based journalism, but globally accessible.
- Upside: Positions CNN as a digital public square for the post-platform age.
4. European Broadcasting Union (EBU) + Public Media Alliance
This is the boldest and most utopian idea: a consortium of public broadcasters (BBC, ARD, France Télévisions, CBC, NHK) co-owning CNN and transforming it into the world’s first Global Public Broadcaster.
- Strategy: Establish CNN as a neutral, multi-national newsroom serving democratic societies with fact-based reporting, long-form journalism, and cultural literacy.
- Upside: Real soft power. Real global reach. And a meaningful answer to the Al Jazeeras and CGTNs of the world.
5. The New York Times or Apple: The Unlikely Suitors
The New York Times might dream of global expansion, but they likely lack the capital—and the appetite—for CNN’s operational complexity. Apple, meanwhile, has the money, but little interest in the chaos of live news and political exposure. Still, both could play a role as strategic partners or minority stakeholders in a new ownership model.
What’s the Upside for CNN?
Here is the part that too many U.S. media analysts overlook because as usual, they think the world ends at the Hudson Valley or on Los Angeles Shores: CNN’s decline in the U.S. doesn’t have to define its future. In fact, CNN’s future likely lies outside the U.S.
CNN International still broadcasts to over 200 million households worldwide. In many countries, it remains a symbol of reliable Western journalism. That’s a powerful foundation to build on, if someone dares to do it right.
I identified some areas where CNN could grow:
- Streaming-First, Global-First: Build CNN as a multilingual, modular streaming service with regional editions, mobile-native formats, and subscription models.
- Global Licensing & Franchising: Expand CNN’s licensing model in Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia. Local partners, local voices, global standards.
- Branded Content & Premium Insights: With the right repositioning, CNN can be a leader in data-driven, narrative-rich branded content for global brands.
- Global News-as-a-Service: Offer CNN’s reporting infrastructure as a B2B service to public institutions, NGOs, and educational platforms.
- Events, Intelligence, and Education: Think CNN Global Summits, CNN Academy, and executive intelligence products for diplomatic, economic, and civic leaders.
The Brand Still Matters – If You Know What to Do with It
CNN is not dead. It’s potential has been unclaimed and hindered by corporate ignorance and risk-aversion mindset. It’s waiting for someone with vision to recognize that the old U.S.-centric cable model is finished but the global, digital, multi-platform news brand is just waiting to be reborn.
I’ve said it for years: news isn’t dying. Bad the old strategy is. Relevance has been redefined by technology: its not only the content that matters but how you make it available.
For the right buyer, CNN is a rocket ship pointed in the wrong direction. All it needs is someone bold enough to course-correct and fast enough to escape the gravity of the past.
