AOL,Disney In Talks To Merge CNN, ABC News Divisions

Yahoo ^ | 9/24/02 | Martin Peers

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Cable News Network's parent AOL Time Warner Inc. (AOL) has been in talks in recent months with Walt Disney Co. (DIS), parent of the ABC television network, about a possible merger of CNN with ABC's news division, according to a person familiar with the talks.

AOL's board was given an update on the talks at its meeting last week. No deal is imminent, however. The person close to the situation said the concept needs more work, but the person said a merger of CNN with the news division of either ABC or Viacom Inc.'s (VIA) CBS was inevitable at some point in the future. The talks were first reported in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)

AOL wants to merge CNN, which has suffered over the past couple of years from strong competition from News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox News Channel, so it can compete more effectively. The broadcast networks such as ABC and CBS want to have a cable news arm to help spread the costs of their news-gathering operations. General Electric Co.'s (GE) NBC already has such a sibling operation in MSNBC and CNBC.

A spokesman for AOL said "we've had conversations with different parties about working together in some ways. There is no deal imminent between CNN and a broadcast network."

[Doug Loss]

So if CNN merges with ABC "News," can they get the real, bona fide Goofy as an anchor rather than the pale substitutes they're using now?

[ladtx]

And CNN will truly become a Mickey Mouse news organization.

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Which one of these companies isn't having problems?

[Shermy]

At least they're not asking for govt. welfare like the airlines. Small satisfaction.