Posted in: ABC, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: donald trump, elon musk, fox news, Mark Cuban, twitter
Mark Cuban Would Buy Twitter/X, FOX "News" (But Here's Why He Can't)
Mark Cuban told Wired that he would definitely be interested in buying FOX "News" and Twitter/X - and why that probably won't happen.
Billionaire Mark Cuban is one of those really rich, really influential people that we – kinda' like, actually. Just to be clear? We're not saying we agree with all of his pitches and beliefs – but he is someone who doesn't hesitate to fight the good fight and legitimately seems to have an optimistic view of the future (one that doesn't involve him ruling it like some real-life Bond villain). When it comes to the ex-reality show host, multi-impeached ex-POTUS, and convicted felon Donald Trump, Twitter/X wrecker Elon Musk, and the spin machine known as FOX "News," what's not to appreciate about someone who dislikes all three – and has no issue making his feelings known publicly (and in the case of Musk, shutting him down time and again in public). That leads us to an interview that Cuban did with Wired, where Cuban revealed that he would definitely buy FOX "News" and Twitter/X – before explaining why neither will probably become a reality.
After discussing how the "Boomer" generation began with so much potential ("Sex, drugs, and rock and roll was a great start. And protesting the Vietnam War") before becoming the "Fox News generation," Cuban stated that the only way to fix that would be to buy FOX "News" – if someone had enough money. "If I had enough money to do it, which I don't, I'd buy it in a heartbeat," Cuban said before offering a breakdown of what the cost would be to be able to purge FOX "News" so that it could become Fox News.
Noting that there would be the matter of Rupert Murdoch and his heirs to deal with right from the start, the market cap of the alleged "news network" at the time of the interview was $15.6 billion. "And you've got to pay at least 50 percent premium. So now it's $22 billion. And then you've got to make all the changes, so that's another $2 billion. You can sell some things off. So maybe it's $15 billion, $20 billion net. I don't have $15 or $20 billion in cash sitting around," Cuban added.
As for Twitter, Cuban doesn't believe that the dude who he has gone toe-to-toe with online over a number of issues would ever sell the social media service (Q: "What if you convinced him it was his idea?" / A: "I wouldn't know how to do that."). In a perfect world, Cuban is a "Yeah, for sure" about purchasing Twitter/X – but Cuban knows it's not a perfect world. "I wish I could. There's no reason for him to sell it," Cuban added.