• Mediaweek, Tuesday, January 31, 2006 11:16 AM

In the wake of the recent marriage of UPN and The WB--the result of which is The CW, which pundits are happily punishing for both its name and its do-nothing logo--a number of analysts are predicting some sort of tie-up between other CBS Corp. and Time Warner units.  In particular, they see a possible merger between CBS News and CNN.  This is not the first time there's been chatter about a CBS-CNN connection.  The two have openly discussed cooperative efforts in the past.  Many observers "expect merger talks to resume," according to a report in Mediaweek. "It's a good fit, but there's still a lot of pride at stake," says media analyst Jeff Alan. "CBS is going to give it one more go to make the news division profitable again... but in the long run, a news share is a better fix than simply putting Katie [Couric] or Diane [Sawyer] in the anchor chair." A CBS-led deal of some sort, with CNN or another news outlet, could happen within 18 months, one observer told Mediaweek.

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