July 18 (Reuters) - David Rhodes, Sky News executive

chairman and former CBS News head, is in talks to run CBS News

again if the Skydance acquisition of the broadcaster's owner

Paramount Global ( PARAA ) closes, digital news website Puck

reported on Friday.

Rhodes, who was president at CBS from 2011 to 2019 and

previously spent a decade with Fox News, has emerged as a likely

successor at CBS News, where he may be advised by Bari Weiss,

co-founder of online news outlet Free Press, Puck said.

The New York Times reported last week that Skydance Media

CEO David Ellison had held preliminary talks to acquire Weiss'

Free Press as well.

Tom Cibrowski is the current president and executive editor

of CBS News.

Reuters could not immediately verify the Puck report. CBS

News, Paramount, Skydance and Sky News did not respond to

requests for comment. Rhodes did not respond to a request for

comment on LinkedIn.

On Thursday, CBS canceled "The Late Show with Stephen

Colbert," the most-watched late-night program on U.S. broadcast

television and a frequent platform of satire aimed at President

Donald Trump.

CBS said the show will end its 10-year run in May 2026 and

described it as "purely a financial decision against a

challenging backdrop in late-night."

CBS-owner Paramount Global ( PARAA ) is seeking approval from

the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for an $8.4-billion

merger with Skydance Media.

Paramount earlier this month agreed to settle a lawsuit

filed by Trump over an interview with his former Democratic

challenger, Kamala Harris, that CBS's "60 Minutes" broadcast in

October.