CNN Reaches Deal with Trump-Advised Kalshi

• It’s the first major media partnership for Kalshi
• Reports surfaced on day it was confirmed Kalshi raised $1 billion
• Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to Kalshi

Cable network CNN and Kalshi reportedly have reached an agreement that will lead to prominent visibility of the prediction market on the media outlet’s social, streaming, and linear television platforms.

Sara Fischer of Axios broke the news earlier today and that report arrived on the same day in which it was confirmed that Kalshi raised $1 billion in a Series E financing round, vaulting its valuation to $11 billion, or more than double the $5 billion the privately held company was valued at two months ago.

The collaboration marks the first major news partnership for Kalshi, as it looks to establish itself as the most authoritative source of information about the real-time probabilities of major cultural and political future events,” Kalshi CEO and co-founder Tarek Mansour told Axios.

Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed, but Axios reported that CNN isn’t paying Kalshi for use of its data. There is an exclusivity clause meaning the media outlet cannot strike a similar deal with a competing prediction market operator.

CNN, Kalshi Deal Makes Sense

CNN, one of the original cable news networks, remains one of the most watched outlets in that realm and its coverage of elections, macroeconomic events, pop culture, and weather make it a natural partner for Kalshi.

Kalshi offers yes/no derivatives on myriad events outside the world of sports, many of which are in the wheelhouse of CNN’s coverage universe, confirming this is a logical partnership. It’s expected there will be a Kalshi ticker on the network’s broadcasts and CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten will tout the agreement from time-to-time.

For Kalshi, the CNN accord marks the first such agreement with major television outlet. Perhaps equally as important is the point that Kalshi beat rivals to the cable news partnership punch.

CNN, Kalshi Could Be Strange Bedfellows

One interesting factoid that media and prediction market observers are unlikely to ignore is Donald Trump Jr.’s role as a Kalshi adviser. He also holds a similar role with Polymarket, Kalshi’s most direct competitor.

The intrigue comes from perceptions that CNN is a left-leaning outlet and one that’s been heavily anti-Donald Trump since the current president earnestly pursued a political career a decade ago. As of this writing, Trump Jr.’s  normally active X account hasn’t made mention of the Kalshi/CNN deal.

In a recent interview with CBS News, Mansour was pressed on the company’s relationship with Trump Jr. and appeared somewhat evasive while noting prediction market operator works with a lot of advisers.