SB • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
CNN. ABC consider merger
The Asssociated Press
NEW YORK - Executives have been discussing a merger of the CNN and ABC news operations, a deal that could help cut costs for troubled parent companies AOL Time Warner Inc. and Walt Disney Co.
Brad Turell, an executive at CNN, confirmed the talks, which were reported Tuesday in The Los Angeles Times, but said no deal was imminent.
CNN, owned by AOL Time Warner, has held merger discussions with ABC and CBS that bogged down over questions about control of the news divisions.
CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson, in a statement sent to the network's staff Tuesday, said CNN's newsgathering and international distribution complemented a strong broadcast unit.
"Models already exist that combine broadcast and cable news networks," Isaacson said. "So the idea is intriguing and we expect these talks will pick
up again from time to time. At this time, CNN is not close to making a deal, but we will always explore scenarios that can make our journalism and our business even stronger." There was no immediate comment from Disney or ABC on Tuesday.
One scenario being discussed would spin off ABC and CNN's news operations into a separate company. AOL Time Warner would own a majority stake, from two-thirds to three-quarters, with ABC's parent Disney owning the rest, according to The Times.
The two divisions would have a combined revenue of more than $1.6 billion, with more than $1 billion coming from CNN, the report said.
Relations between ABC News and Disney have been tense because of the company's unsuccessful pursuit of David Letterman to take a late-night slot, upending ABC News' Nightline. Some at ABC News felt undermined by those discussions.
ABC News shares with CBS
and NBC the prestige of being one of the three main broadcast news operations. But in an era of cutbacks for the networks, CNN has built the larger international news operation.
AOL Time Warner board members are under pressure to cut costs. The company's stock dipped below $10 per share this summer after trading above $50 a year ago.
Disney's operations have been dragged down by the ABC network's poor performance over the past year, although ABC News has managed to keep its ratings relatively strong.
ABC News President David Westin addressed the story at a meeting Tuesday with news division executives.
"ABC News is stronger than it was a year ago," Westin said. "That means we have the luxury of doing nothing at all and continuing to grow our business. It also gives us the luxury of doing a deal, if any is done, from a position of strength."
Crossword
ACROSS
1 Tibetan monk
5 Trains to box
10 Oppose
14 Former wives
15 Test
16 Fencer's foil
17 __ it the truth?
18 Eagle's nest
19 Legal claim
20 Multiple nouns
22 Takes away
24 Currier's partner
25 Scraped (by)
26 Digging tool
29 G.A. Nasser's short-lived nation
31 Narrow strips of land
35 Party workers
37 Make certain
38 Formerly
39 Turn back
41 Emulate Muhammad Ali
42 Bank, at times
43 Cherish as sacred
48 Joyless, poetically
49 Picnic pest
50 Jots
51 Shopping complex
53 Division word
55 City near Bath, England
58 More flavorful
62 Paella base
63 Dominion
65 O'Brien or Ferber
66 Graven image
67 Come to terms
68 Cincinnati baseball team
69 Hamilton bills
70 Requisites
71 Window part
DOWN
1 Frog head?
2 Angle of a leafstalk
3 List of options
4 Mounted upon
5 Passe
08/25/02
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81
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6 Stress
7 Put on TV
8 Corporate shark
9 Smooth and silky
10 Bamboozles
11 Legendary
12 Yard divisions
13 Cravings
21 State firmly
23 Lairs
26 Use boiling water
27 Beeeper
28 Make amends
30 Quaking tree
32 Noah's ark measurement
33 Swedish bread?
34 Male and female
36 Behave humanly?
37 Capp and Capone
40 Named
43 Maidens
44 QED part
Solutions to yesterday's puzzle.
46 Successful punches
47 Fans
49 Claim
52 Navigational device
54 Designates
55 Manchester man
56 Take the bus
57 PC symbol
59 Conception
60 Means justifiers?
61 Impulsive
64 Exist
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