CNN and Fox provide some of the biggest news shows in media.
Considering how popular they are, you may wonder who owns the networks and who is getting a big slice of the monetary pie that it generates.
It’s also worth knowing who owns various networks to determine if there’s any particular bias that the network may have.
Who Owns CNN And Fox?
AT&T owns CNN.
Although it isn’t as simple as that since AT&T is a parent company of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. recently merged with Discovery after AT&T bought it.
It has now since become Warner Bros. Discovery.
Warner Bros. originally owned CNN, so you could say that CNN is now owned by Warner Brothers Discovery.
However, it’s better to stick with the parent company since AT&T owns several different other networks aside from Warner Bros.
CNN and its related networks, like CNN+, are thus all under the AT&T umbrella.
The CEO of AT&T is John Stankey.
You could say that Stankey is the owner of CNN, but it’s more accurate to say that AT&T is the owner of CNN.
Fox, on the other hand, is under the Fox Corporation umbrella.
The CEO of the Fox Corporation was Rupert Murdoch, but it is currently Lachlan Murdoch.
As such, you could say that Murdoch owns Fox and its related networks aside from those which are now owned by the Disney Corporation.
Is Fox Corporation Owned By Disney?
Because Disney bought quite a few of Fox’s businesses, you may wonder if Disney now owns Fox Corporation.
That isn’t quite the case.
It’s worth examining what happened to Fox before Disney came into the picture.
For a long time, 21st Century Fox was part of the News Corp.
News Corp was an expansive publishing and entertainment empire owned by the Murdoch family.
In 2013, News Corp. split and 21st Century Fox emerged from that split.
It encompassed most of the entertainment businesses from the previous media empire.
The publishing arm broke off and kept its name as News Corp.
It’s also worth mentioning that 21st Century Fox also included 20th Century Fox.
It essentially just updated its name.
In 2019, Disney bought 21st Century Fox for $71 billion.
Disney focused on the entertainment studios and assets while allowing the news assets to break off and form its own, separate, corporation which became owned by someone else.
That separate entity became known as Fox Corp.
Disney, on the other hand, ended up owning 20th Century Fox, FX, National Geographic, Star, Fox Searchlight, and 30% of Hulu.
As such, while Disney now owns the entertainment branch of Fox, it does not own the news branch of Fox.
That branch still belongs to the Murdoch family.
Are CBS And Fox Owned By The Same Company?
No, CBS and Fox are not owned by the same company.
Paramount Global owns CBS.
Fox has two owners.
If you’re referring to Fox news, then it’s owned by the Fox Corp. and Murdoch family.
If you’re referring to 21st Century Fox or the entertainment arm of Fox, then it’s owned by Disney.
Since neither of the companies is Paramount Global, CBS and Fox have two different owners.
Who Owns Fox?
Rupert Murdoch owns and controls Fox.
Fox Corporation also owns Fox News.
Murdoch has a 39% share in Fox Corporation which means he also owns Fox News.
In addition to Fox News, Murdoch has a controlling interest in News Corp. with a 39% share.
News Corp. also owns several other publishing arms.
For example, it owns the New York Post, HarperCollins, and the Wall Street Journal.
As such, you could also say that Murdoch owns the New York Post, HarperCollins, and the Wall Street Journal.
Besides Murdoch, there are a few other entities with ownership of Fox.
They include the Vanguard Group which has a 13.05% controlling interest, the Independent Franchise Partners with a 7.75% controlling interest, the Yacktman Asset Management LP with a 5.55% controlling interest, and the BlackRock Fund Advisors with a 4.99% controlling interest.
Who Owns CNN?
A new company formed between Discovery Media and Warner Media owns CNN.
AT&T is the largest shareholder of CNN and Warner Media Discovery, so it’s technically the top owner of CNN.
Since AT&T is the largest shareholder of Warner Media, it also owns all of the other companies under Warner Media.
That includes networks like HBO, Otter Media, Warner Bros., and Turner Broadcasting System.
Some of the biggest shareholders are Randall L. Stephenson, John J. Stephens, and John T. Stankey.
In terms of organizations, the Vanguard Group has a controlling interest of 7.43%.
BlackRock Fund Advisors also has a 4.85% controlling interest.
Finally, SSgA Funds Management has a 4.13% controlling interest in CNN.
Who Owns ABC News?
ABC News is a part of the Disney Corporation.
One of the majority shareholders in ABC News is Robert Iger.
Iger is a Chairman of Disney and was the former CEO of both Disney and ABC.
Another majority holder is the Laurene Powell Jobs Trust.
Laurene Powell Jobs received her shares from her husband, Steve Jobs.
Jobs received the shares when Disney bought Pixar.
Other majority shareholders include Christine McCarthy and Alan Braverman.
Other entities which own shares in ABC News include the Vanguard Group with a 7.66% controlling interest, BlackRock Fund Advisors with a 4.36% controlling interest, and SSgA Funds Management with a 4.11% controlling interest.
Who Owns NBC News?
Comcast owns NBC News.
It also owns NBC Universal News, NBC, and CNBC.
Brian L. Roberts is the CEO and Chairman of Comcast.
The Roberts family, not unlike the Murdoch family, has had a controlling interest in Comcast for years.
As such, you could say that the Roberts family owns NBC News and other businesses and corporations under the Comcast umbrella.
In fact, Comcast owns several other companies.
Some of those include Fandango, Hulu, Universal Pictures, and Telemundo.
Although the Roberts family owns the majority of Comcast, and thus NBC News, there are a few other entities that also have shares in it.
Some of those entities include the Vanguard Group with an 8.11% controlling interest, BlackRock Fund Advisors with a 4.26% controlling interest, and Capital Research & Management Co. with a 4.57% controlling interest.
Who Founded CNN?
CNN is famous for being the first network that featured news 24/7.
The founder of CNN was Ted Turner.
It became part of the Turner Broadcasting System.
Turner wanted to start CNN because other industry experts told him it wasn’t possible to start a network that only featured the news.
They didn’t see it as something that would last.
Turner started the network in 1980, and it has been going strong ever since.
The first show that aired was a husband-and-wife anchor team.
They were Dave Walker and Lois Hart.
The news station struggled at first.
It didn’t have some of the larger financial resources that other networks had access to.
As such, they had to stick to the service they were providing and hope that people tuned in.
CNN specialized in staying longer on certain events than other news networks.
Local news, for example, tended to rush through the day’s headlines since they only had an hour or half-hour slot to do so.
CNN stuck with stories as they developed to ensure its viewers were able to gain a full understanding of what was going on.
One of the news events that CNN made its mark on was the Persian Gulf War.
It featured stories from both sides and gave viewers a sit-in on the war as it happened before their very eyes.
CNN was eventually bought out by Warner Media Discovery.
Conclusion
Fox and CNN have two different owners.
The Fox Corporation owns much of Fox while the Disney Corporation owns 21st Century Fox.
Warner Media Discovery, which is also owned by AT&T, owns CNN.
