According to Business Insider, the high-stakes battle for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has hit a surreal snag over the value of its cable channels. Paramount CEO David Ellison, who wants to buy all of WBD, argues that a potential spin-off of networks like CNN, TNT, and the Food Network is worth only about $2.5 billion, or roughly $1 per WBD share. In contrast, independent analysts estimate that bundle could be worth around $10 billion, or $4 per share. This valuation gap is central to the fight with Netflix, which has a plan to buy just HBO and the Warner movie studio after the cable assets are spun off. The outcome of this numbers game will determine which company ultimately controls WBD’s crown jewels.
The math war decides everything
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a boring accounting dispute. It’s the entire mechanism of the deal. Ellison wants to buy the whole company, cable sludge and all, in one go. So for his offer to look good, he needs to argue that the cable part is basically worthless—a rounding error on a $100+ billion deal. Netflix, and WBD management favoring its offer, need investors to believe that cable spin-off is a valuable, standalone prize. If shareholders think it’s worth $10 billion, then the Netflix plan (cash/stock for the “good” WBD plus shares in the “new” cable company) looks like a bigger total payday. It’s a pure narrative fight, and the numbers are just the weapons.
Is CNN really worth Bari Weiss times 16?
Let’s sit with that $2.5 billion figure for a second. Ellison is saying that CNN, plus TNT, TBS, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, and a global portfolio of others, is worth that much. For context, Bloomberg thought CNN alone was worth $5 billion in 2023, and a forensic accountant later said it was more like $2.3 billion. So now, for roughly the same price, Ellison says you get CNN *and* everything else. It’s brutal. By another wild comparison, he paid a reported $150 million for Bari Weiss’s *The Free Press*. By that math, the entire Warner-Discovery cable empire is worth about 16 Bari Weisses. That feels… metaphorically perfect for 2025.
The garage sale of American media
So, are things *that* bad? Probably. The cable bundle is in a death spiral, and everyone knows it. Selling these networks is notoriously hard because they’re built for a dying ecosystem. But they still generate cash! That’s why the analyst estimate of $10 billion seems more plausible. Even that, though, is a stunning collapse. It’s less than 1% of Google’s value. These brands that defined TV for decades are now garage sale leftovers—worth something to someone, but you’re not getting top dollar. WBD itself is planning to separate into two companies, which tells you all you need to know about the perceived drag of these assets.
What this means for the future
This isn’t just about one deal. It’s a crystal-clear valuation of the entire legacy cable model. When the people who might own these assets call them nearly worthless, it sets a market price. It tells other media conglomerates with similar networks what they can realistically expect. And it accelerates the industry’s split into two camps: those who own must-have, direct-to-consumer streaming assets (like HBO), and those who are stuck managing the decline of linear cash flows. The trajectory is set. The only question is how steep the cliff really is—and whether it’s a $2.5 billion drop or a $10 billion one. My bet? The truth is closer to the higher number, but the fact we’re even having this conversation shows how far the mighty have fallen.
