Ex-CBS News boss David Rhodes in talks to return after Paramount-Skydance deal closes: report



Former CBS News boss David Rhodes is reportedly in talks to retake his old throne at the Tiffany Network if owner Paramount’s merger with Skydance is finally approved.

Rhodes, who served as president of CBS News from 2011 to 2019 and spent a decade before that at Fox News, is currently executive chairman of Sky News in the UK.

His possible return back across the pond, reported by Puck News, comes amid speculation that Skydance CEO David Ellison has been wooing Bari Weiss, co-founder of news site Free Press, to join the struggling network.

The two attended the high-powered “summer camp for billionaires” in Sun Valley, Idaho, earlier this month, where Ellison supposedly held early-stage talks with Weiss about acquiring the Free Press, according to the New York Times.

David Rhodes currently serves as executive chairman of Sky News Group. Courtesy of Sky News

CBS News, Paramount, Skydance and Sky News did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

Rhodes is very happy in London at Sky News, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The network named Tom Cibrowski as CBS News president in May after CBS boss Wendy McMahon stepped down over the impending settlement with President Trump.

Earlier this month, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million sum to settle the $20 billion lawsuit over the allegedly biased editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Shari Redstone, chair and controlling shareholder of Paramount, told her board she was in favor of resolving the issue.

CBS on Thursday canceled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Getty Images

The deal was expected to clear the way for Trump-nominated FCC Chair Brendan Carr to approve the $8.4 billion Skydance merger.

On Thursday, CBS canceled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” over what it called the “financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late-night.”

Tom Cibrowski, current president and executive editor at CBS News. Getty Images

The top-rated late-night show, launched by David Letterman in 1993, will go dark next May.

Colbert was a frequent critic of President Trump.



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