Jon Stewart joked that his new boss should “have it all,” as his network’s new overlord Skydance continues to gobble up the country’s biggest media companies.
Skydance CEO David Ellison now has his sights set on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery after its acquisition of Paramount, The Daily Show’s parent company.
“He should have it all,” Stewart quipped on The Weekly Show Thursday. “My guy should have it all. He should be the leader of all… Why are there other media companies? Shouldn’t they all just be one? Shouldn’t we get to a point where we’re all just fired and hired by the same guy?” he said.
“Just one guy controls all of the media—what could go wrong? That’s what I say,” he added.
Stewart previously flamed Paramount’s decision to settle with Donald Trump for $16 million over his lawsuit against 60 Minutes, which he claimed selectively edited his campaign opponent’s interview. The legal squabble raged on as Paramount was nearing the closing of its $8 billion merger to Skydance, which required approval from Trump’s administration. Stewart said in July on The Daily Show, “I’m obviously not a lawyer, but I did watch Goodfellas,” Stewart said. “That sounds illegal.”
He later expressed a lack of certainty over his show’s ability to survive the merger. “They may sell the whole f—ing place for parts, I just don’t know,” he said at the time. “And we’ll deal with it when we do. But I’m so happy and proud of everybody that works over there. They want to do that? Knock themselves out.”
So far, Stewart has remained on the air—but he predicts major changes are coming amid Skydance’s future growth plans. “Now there’s gonna be a bloodletting at Paramount. I think it might even be this week or next week,” he said, ominously.
The host then sarcastically dismissed concerns that media conglomerates are becoming monolithic, as Ellison’s Skydance stands out as a top contender to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, and in turn add CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Studios, and more underneath Ellison’s umbrella. “It’s about time we all shared the same media,” Stewart joked.
“I have always said my complaint with the media is that there’s just too many different aspects of it. And if we all just shared the same IP, we all become one. Isn’t that what diversity, equity, and inclusion is all about?” he asked.
Growing serious, Stewart concluded, “If they merge with the other thing, like another one—this is how it all runs now in the media industry. It’s a wild time.”
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