Who owns CNN?
CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (the United States, NASDAQ: WBD), which has owned the brand since 8 April 2022.[1][2]
Evidence: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-27, SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. verified
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, New York, New York
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, Atlanta, Georgia
- Founded
- 1980
- Category
- Media & entertainment › Film & television › Television networks
- Parent ticker
- NASDAQ: WBD
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About CNN
CNN was founded by Ted Turner in 1980 as the first channel devoted entirely to news, an idea widely predicted to fail. Its coverage of the 1991 Gulf War established rolling live reporting as the format every competitor then adopted.
What Warner Bros. Discovery's annual report says about CNN
Sentences about CNN from Warner Bros. Discovery's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
TNT, TBS, TLC, Food Network, and CNN were five of the top ten ad-supported cable networks for the year among Adults 25-54, with TLC's breakout hit Baylen Out Loud ranking as the #1 unscripted freshman series in prime time among Adults and Women 25-54.
CNN , a leading global news brand, launched CNN All Access in October 2025, giving audiences the ability to access a combination of on-air CNN content, news coverage, and exclusive programming directly on CNN's apps and websites. 10 TNT Sports is a global leader in the delivery of premium sports content.
How often Warner Bros. Discovery names CNN in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named less often than it was three years earlier.
Ownership timeline of CNN
- 2022 – present Warner Bros. Discovery [1][2] verified
Where CNN sits in Warner Bros. Discovery
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Warner Bros. Discovery ownership tree →
See the full Warner Bros. Discovery brand portfolio (9) →
Other brands owned by Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery controls 9 brands on Brandtree, 8 of them in media & entertainment.
Also in media & entertainment
- Cartoon Network (1992)
- DC (1934)
- Discovery Channel (1985)
- Food Network (1993)
- HBO (1972)
- TLC (1972)
- Warner Bros. (1923)
Other brands in television networks, and who owns them
The 92 brands in television networks on Brandtree belong to 31 owners. The largest is Sun TV Network, with 7; Warner Bros. Discovery has 6.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini TV | Sun TV Network | 🇮🇳 India |
| Global Television | Corus | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| BET | Paramount Skydance | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bounce (Scripps network) | Scripps | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Canal+ | Canal+ | 🇫🇷 France |
| AMC | AMC Networks | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Astro | Astro | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Mnet | CJ ENM | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
About the owner: Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery is a publicly listed company headquartered in New York, New York, United States, founded in 2022. Brandtree records 9 brands under its control, and it is listed as NASDAQ: WBD.
Warner Bros. Discovery was formed in 2022 when AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and merged it with Discovery, three years after AT&T had paid $85 billion for it. The combined company carries very large debt from that history, which has shaped almost every decision it has made since.
Warner Bros. Discovery: full profile, brands and acquisition history →
🇺🇸 CNN and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,570 brands that began in the United States. 492 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; CNN is not one of them.
- 20th Century Studios — Disney 🇺🇸
- AMC — AMC Networks 🇺🇸
- AMC Theatres — AMC Theatres 🇺🇸
- AMF — Lucky Strike Entertainment 🇺🇸
- Adventure Island — United Parks 🇺🇸
- Antenna TV — Nexstar 🇺🇸
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of CNN?
The parent company of CNN is Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United States.
Is CNN American?
Yes. CNN originated in the United States in 1980 and its owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, is also headquartered in the United States.
Since when has Warner Bros. Discovery owned CNN?
Warner Bros. Discovery has owned CNN since 8 April 2022.
Is CNN still owned by Warner Bros. Discovery?
Yes. As of 29 October 2026, CNN is still owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K filed 2026-02-27 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 10-K, published 27 February 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 - Discovery and AT&T close WarnerMedia transaction — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 8-K, published 12 April 2022; retrieved 28 October 2026.
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