Media Mogul Barry Diller Wants to Buy CNN

Media mogul Barry Diller declared he would buy CNN immediately if it were available, warning that a pending Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger would trigger aggressive cost-cutting, while revealing he had seriously explored acquiring Vox Media.

Speaking Tuesday at the Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything Festival in New York, the IAC chairman and longtime media executive expressed strong interest in the cable news network. 

“Absolutely, I would do it tonight and tomorrow night,” Diller told WSJ reporter Cara Lombardo. “Before they ruin it any further. Hopefully before it’s extinct, which, I mean, it’s not gonna be.”

Barry Diller

Diller, who previously approached Warner Bros. Discovery about buying CNN, argued the network is “so ripe” for innovation that it hasn’t seen in nearly a decade. He believes a Paramount acquisition of WBD would force a “savage process” of deep cost reductions worth billions as the combined company integrates operations and seeks efficiencies. 

“So how they do that and navigate also running the surviving businesses … I don’t know,” he said.

The comments come amid ongoing consolidation in traditional media. Paramount’s roughly $111 billion deal for WBD would pair CNN with CBS and other assets, potentially reshaping the news and entertainment landscape. Diller suggested CNN could ultimately align with CBS in such a merger.

Diller also disclosed that he had looked “very deeply” at a deal for Vox Media, which is now reportedly in talks with James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems for parts of its portfolio, including New York Magazine and its podcast division.

Broader Context:  Diller, a veteran of the industry with a career spanning Fox Broadcasting and IAC’s portfolio of digital brands, has long been vocal about media’s challenges. He recently stepped back from day-to-day leadership at IAC (rebranding toward “People Incorporated”) but remains an influential voice on the intersection of entertainment, technology, and business strategy. His remarks underscore the pressure on legacy media outlets facing declining linear TV audiences, rising costs, and competition from streaming giants.