HGTV Keith Bynum Subtly Shades Paramount Amid Warner Bros. Bidding War

The Hollywood bidding war over the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has taken a new turn, and HGTV star Keith Bynum is not happy about it.

News broke on Thursday, February 26, that Netflix is backing out of its bid to take over Warner Bros. Discovery after Paramount submitted a better offer. Per NBC News, Paramount’s new bid was for the entire company, while Netflix only bid to take over the company’s film studio, streaming service, and HBO cable channel.

“The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix said in a statement on Thursday. “However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.”

While the Paramount deal has not been finalized, Bynum expressed his disapproval of Warner Bros.’ potential new parent company via social media. (Warner Bros. Discovery owns HGTV.)

In a Thursday Instagram Story, Bynum shared a post about the deal that read, “CNN & Warner Bros. to be taken over by Trump-allies at Paramount.” Alongside the post, he wrote, “Suddenly I’m very thrilled to no longer be part of the trash at Warner brothers. What a nightmare.”

Courtesy of Keith Bynum/Instagram

Paramount has made headlines in recent months for its connections to President Donald Trump‘s administration. Back in July 2025, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump. He accused CBS’ 60 Minutes of deceptively editing a 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the wake of the lawsuit, CBS canceled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, a move they claimed in a statement was purely financial and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”

At the time, Paramount was seeking FCC approval for an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. However, many interpreted the move as Paramount seeking to appeal to Trump, as Stephen Colbert frequently critiques the presidential administration on the show. (The late-night show will end in May.)

CBS News, meanwhile, has seen several shake-ups since Bari Weiss was installed as editor-in-chief, including the promotion of CBS Mornings‘ Tony Dokoupil to anchor of CBS Evening News. Viewers have criticized Dokoupil for trying to appease the Trump administration on the show since he began his role in January.

Related

CNN Is Set for Trump-Friendly New Owners: How Jake Tapper & Tony Dokoupil Reacted

Bynum is not currently employed by Warner Bros. In June 2025, Bynum revealed via Instagram that his series, Bargain Block, was canceled by HGTV despite being greenlit for a fifth season. The show was one of several home renovation series canceled by the network last year, including Married to Real Estate, Izzy Does It, Farmhouse Fixer, Battle on the Beach, Christina on the Coast, and The Flipping El Moussas.

Bargain Block aired its final episode in September 2025. One month prior, Bynum wrote via Instagram that he was “grateful” to be “leaving HGTV at high point,” adding, “While the decision to leave was not ours, it’s clear we have fans that will support us no matter what network we land on, and that is a comfort. I’ll admit, the anger we experienced in the last few months was tough to handle, but seeing how many of you were also angry helped us see a path forward. Out of the bad always comes some good.”