NCS CEO Mark Thompson insisted on Wednesday that he’s dedicated to the network regardless of a looming ownership change that has workers involved for his or her future.
Netflix dropped its bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery final month after the corporate introduced Paramount’s newest bid to purchase all of its belongings, together with NCS, was “superior.” The sale to Paramount would put media mogul David Ellison — who has an in depth relationship with President Donald Trump and has angered liberals for putting in Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News — in command of NCS. As a outcome, NCS staffers have been on edge about what the longer term holds for the struggling network, however Thompson instructed he plans to stick round to discover out.
“I’m really committed to NCS,” Thompson stated in a Zoom assembly with worldwide staffers, a network insider instructed Fox News Digital.
“I’m in the middle of something exciting and interesting with all of you,” he continued. “And I’d like to continue it.”
The Status e-newsletter, which first reported Thompson’s feedback, added that “several anchors and on-air journalists hammered him with questions about ensuring editorial independence under incoming Paramount ownership.”
A NCS insider just lately instructed Fox News Digital that staffers really feel “a mix of despair, apprehension and curiosity” because the sale to Paramount looms.
Netflix Backs Out Of Warner Bros Bidding War After Paramount Made ‘Superior’ Offer
“Look, I think this is a place that has gone through a lot. A lot of mergers in the past decade. A lot of ‘fresh’ starts,” the NCS insider stated.
“I think there is an underlying fear of mixing two news divisions,” they continued. “Who is gonna get canned?”
NCS has struggled within the rankings division lately, and Ellison has proven, with vital changes to CBS, that he isn’t afraid of shaking up a legacy group. NCS staffers famously turned on former CEO Chris Licht when he tried to tamp down NCS’s partisanship that marked the Jeff Zucker period. Thompson changed Licht in 2023.
While Thompson stated he’s dedicated to NCS, it’s unclear if Paramount feels the identical manner in regards to the present network boss. Paramount didn’t instantly reply when requested for remark.
Thompson beforehand tried to subdue considerations final month with an encouraging memo to NCS workers.