Paramount World controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, together with the conglom’s co-CEO troika, waved pom-poms Sunday evening to workers concerning the upside to Skydance’s $8 billion takeover of the storied studio, CBS community and Viacom cable networks.
Already, workers are sweating over the looming $500 million in cuts that co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins would herald an effort to create higher revenue margins. Now comes information of tonight’s Skydance deal.
As we noticed with the Warner Bros Discovery merger, the arrival of recent execs comes with new agendas, recent mission statements and future exec groups. What’s usually not realized by incoming bosses –particularly because the Movement Image aspect of Paramount has constructed a kickass characteristic slate of A Quiet Place: Day One, Transformers One, Smile 2 and Gladiator II this 12 months — is that if it ain’t broke, effectively then, don’t repair it. A lot of Paramount’s pains are the lofty overhead of working a streaming service, coupled with the challenged linear community area.
Skydance Media‘s David Ellison would be the new chairman and CEO of the brand new conglom, with former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell appearing as president after the transaction passes the regulatory course of in early 2025.
Redstone praised Skydance in tonight’s memo, saying partly, “They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the longer term and the assets to construct on Paramount World’s aggressive benefits to drive the Firm’s success.” Skydance has been an enormous co-financier to Paramount’s mega-tentpoles Prime Gun: Maverick, Star Trek and the Mission: Unimaginable franchise.
She additionally thanked workers for increase the leisure firm her father Sumner Redstone created, one through which content material is king. “That has by no means been extra essential than it’s at present, when in a cluttered market, we proceed to create content material that resonates with our customers, that they frequently hunt down, and that retains them wanting extra,” she informed workers within the observe.
“Our success is due to you, what you could have carried out individually, and much more importantly, as a staff,” she emphasised.
Regardless of the 45-day go-shop interval, it feels like Redstone has made up her thoughts that Paramount World is Skydance’s to lose: “The settlement we entered into at present is topic to closing circumstances, and we count on the deal to be accomplished within the first half of 2025.”
Learn Redstone’s observe to Paramount World workers beneath:
Good night. Simply moments in the past, it was introduced that we have now entered into an settlement below which Skydance Media will purchase Nationwide Amusements and merge Skydance’s enterprise with Paramount World. I wished to take this chance to achieve out to you straight not solely to share the information, however to precise my large gratitude to each one in every of you for what we have now been capable of accomplish collectively for the previous a number of many years.
As you understand, my father constructed Viacom and CBS by bringing collectively a bunch of the perfect property in media, information, and leisure. Whereas individuals usually debated whether or not content material or distribution dominated the day, my father was ruled in all of his choices by his perception that content material was certainly king. That has by no means been extra essential than it’s at present, when in a cluttered market, we proceed to create content material that resonates with our customers, that they frequently hunt down, and that retains them wanting extra. Our success is due to you, what you could have carried out individually, and much more importantly, as a staff.
Seeing the way in which you could have come collectively since we launched Paramount World has been one of many highlights of my years at this firm, and your accomplishments are evident throughout the enterprise. Paramount+ is among the many fastest-growing streaming providers with an distinctive vary of content material interesting to all demographics. CBS has been the #1 broadcast community for 16 years and working, with clear energy throughout genres. Paramount Footage has produced eight #1 motion pictures up to now two years alone and continues to create hit after hit. Our linear networks have delivered culture-shaping content material that excites audiences, together with the launch of the “Taylor Sheridan universe” with Yellowstone on the Paramount Community. And, Pluto TV is at present probably the most broadly distributed FAST service.
As all this was completed, we remained devoted to educating and informing ourselves and our audiences in our efforts to struggle hate and discrimination, and supporting different essential causes within the US and world wide. I’m so grateful to all of you for what we have now been capable of accomplish to make a distinction.
Our household has at all times been dedicated to persevering with my Dad’s legacy and guaranteeing Paramount’s enduring success. In step with that, because the tempo of change within the trade has continued to speed up, it has been our duty to work with management to make adjustments with the intention to preserve our aggressive place and gasoline development, pondering of each the close to and long term. Most not too long ago, this led to the appointment of George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins as Co-CEOs, to take the significant actions essential to bolster the Firm each operationally and financially. I believe we will all agree on their monumental contributions to this firm. On the similar time, as you understand, our Board has centered on guaranteeing we’re pursuing all alternatives to greatest place the Firm for the longer term and maximize worth creation for all shareholders.
As a longtime manufacturing accomplice to Paramount, Skydance is effectively conscious of what we have now completed over time and it’s for that purpose that they’ve pursued a mixture with Paramount. They’ve a transparent strategic imaginative and prescient for the longer term and the assets to construct on Paramount World’s aggressive benefits to drive the Firm’s success.
The settlement we entered into at present is topic to closing circumstances, and we count on the deal to be accomplished within the first half of 2025. Till then, George, Chris, and Brian will proceed to steer the Firm, and they are going to be sharing extra with you shortly. I in fact will even be right here to cheer you on, and help in any approach that I can. It has really been my honor to work with all of you these previous a number of years, and to see so a lot of our desires come to fruition.
I need to categorical my deepest due to you on your dedication, laborious work, and most significantly your help of my household and me. Towards a difficult trade backdrop and plenty of adjustments on the firm, you could have protected Paramount’s property and delivered for our audiences. As I’ve mentioned earlier than, and I’ll at all times say, we have now the perfect individuals within the enterprise right here at Paramount and it’s really a privilege to work with you. I’ll at all times treasure the relationships I’ve had with you and the methods we have now labored collectively to tell apart ourselves in our trade.
All the perfect, Shari
