Who will buy Paramount?

[PF9]

If anything AMC Networks would be an acquisition target by someone. Since Sony isn't getting Paramount Global from the looks of it AMC would be a perfect target for Sony to build a conglomerate of similar scale to the others that own a major movie studio as outlined in previous posts of mine in here. This new conglomerate would not include Fox News (which would change its name) so I can drop my objections to sports leagues doing business with Fox.

 

[themidnightlore]

The only way Hearst could buy the thing is if they are actually (smartly) willing to break things up, CBS would fit Hearst, though ABC and NBC would bristle at that sense well Hearst has stations with NBC and ABC, and Baltimore and Boston would be a conflict. AMC Networks doesn't have that kind of cash either, so again only buying a segment would work. The brain trust at Paramount doesn't want to break up.
I root for no purchase, though, especially one where the current runners walk away happy with extra cash.

Paramount doesn't want to split, but splitting the parts would be the more intelligent option. Hm...

 

[lowell]

If anything AMC Networks would be an acquisition target by someone. Since Sony isn't getting Paramount Global from the looks of it AMC would be a perfect target for Sony to build a conglomerate of similar scale to the others that own a major movie studio as outlined in previous posts of mine in here. This new conglomerate would not include Fox News (which would change its name) so I can drop my objections to sports leagues doing business with Fox.

It's not necessary for them, though.

Paramount doesn't want to split, but splitting the parts would be the more intelligent option. Hm...

I mean, Bakish is going to remain as an advisor to help transition the Office of the CEO trio moving into his role but that move kind of looks awkward, now that nothing happened at all:

"The filing says that Bakish, who formally exited April 30, will continue as a senior advisor to the company through October 31 “to help ensure a seamless transition of his duties.”"

Paramount Unveils Bob Bakish Exit Terms, Names Chris McCarthy ‘Interim Principal Executive’ For SEC Purposes

Ex Paramount CEO to get a $253k monthly salary through October as an advisor. Chris McCarthy named interim principal executive for SEC purposes.

deadline.com

 

[Insidus]

You got perfect prediction - Paramount's Plans to Be Sold or Merge Are Reportedly Falling Apart | Cord Cutters News

I heard Skydance won't make a bigger bid and would rather walk away. Another that Paramount might reject both and resort to selling BET and VH1 again which I feel would be better with 50 Cent or Tyler Perry than Apollo.

 

[lowell]

I heard Skydance won't make a bigger bid and would rather walk away. Another that Paramount might reject both and resort to selling BET and VH1 again which I feel would be better with 50 Cent or Tyler Perry than Apollo.

I mean, having BET does actually make Paramount Global stand out from others and also shows that they have diverse content.

 

[harry580]

I mean, having BET does actually make Paramount Global stand out from others and also shows that they have diverse content.

what about disney, universal, sony & warner bros?

 

[lowell]

what about disney, universal, sony & warner bros?

Disney has Onyx Collective but it wasn't created until 2021.

WarnerDiscovery has OWN.

NBCUniversal doesn't have one unless you count Telemundo.

Sony doesn't have anything like all of the above.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

I heard Skydance won't make a bigger bid and would rather walk away.

That's the worst rumor I have ever heard. Just because exclusive negotiations are over, doesn't mean Skydance and Paramount are no longer eyeing each other.

 

[lowell]

That's the worst rumor I have ever heard. Just because exclusive negotiations are over, doesn't mean Skydance and Paramount are no longer eyeing each other.

It does actually make some sense, though.

The Ellisons don't want to spend that much on this.

That's why they're bringing in partners like private equity firms Saudi-backed RedBird Capital & KKR and even Tencent.

They want to save money in case Tiktok ends up being ripe to pursue and for political contributions.

 

[lowell]

Yes, I agree with you and it would be very productive if Paramount sold BET/VH1 to 50 Cent or Tyler Perry.


It has with article to make a sound like Skydance walked away rather than make a bigger bid.

Skydance’s Proposed Deal With Paramount Global Appears to Be Falling Apart

After months of M&A talks, Paramount Global and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone might be going it alone after all.

variety.com

It looked like my debate with acquisition of Paramount Global went wasted and I started to not care about PG after all, so seriously, Redstone needs to fix the mess.

The acquisitions and fewer major studios are inevitable, also bankruptcies can be inevitable to some studios.


Networks aim to increase the diversity on main channels and Nickelodeon is very popular to POC.

That's true but like even outside of that, none of them are really comparable.

Paramount Global having BET does actually make them stand out from others in having diverse content.

 

[lowell]

The decline of cable TV put future networks in doubt, however PG isn't resort to divestiture until they are in serious financial crisis or don't make money anymore.

As for reason, @Insidus believes that someone can manage BET/VH1 better, but definitely not Byron Allen because he will screw it up further, so I agreed with him about 50 Cent and Tyler Perry are going to treat with respect.

Yup, even with a decline, those channels will still generate money until it's no longer possible to do so.

Outside of the U.S., BET still has a presence in France, Africa, the Middle East, and also South Korea.

At least, they can even technically migrate the brand towards theatrical and streaming to remain relevant as decline in linear TV continues down the road.

 

[lowell]

Ok, I didn't realize that BET is popular outside of US but learned that UK version of BET is closed permanently.

Yup, it's still active internationally, except for U.K. & Ireland.

But those two countries are still actually getting BET content through both Pluto TV & Paramount+.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

The acquisitions and fewer major studios are inevitable, also bankruptcies can be inevitable to some studios.

If Sony did buy Paramount Global, they would fold all of Sony Pictures Entertainment into the former and relocate to Paramount Pictures' Melrose film lot, while Amazon would acquire Sony’s Culver City lot for their MGM unit, allowing the latter to become one of the majors again, something it hasn’t been since 1986. (I bet, following this scenario, MGM could offer to reacquire most of their pre-86 catalog from Warner Bros., with some exceptions like their vintage cartoons, The Wizard of Oz, Dangerous When Wet, and Anchors Aweigh, the latter two since they feature guest appearances by Tom and Jerry.)

 

[harry580]

The acquisitions and fewer major studios are inevitable, also bankruptcies can be inevitable to some studios.

what is your obsession with bankruptcies of studios, mgm went bankrupt for a reason

If Sony did buy Paramount Global, they would fold all of Sony Pictures Entertainment into the former and relocate to Paramount Pictures' Melrose film lot, while Amazon would acquire Sony’s Culver City lot for their MGM unit, allowing the latter to become one of the majors again, something it hasn’t been since 1986. (I bet, following this scenario, MGM could offer to reacquire most of their pre-86 catalog from Warner Bros., with some exceptions like their vintage cartoons, The Wizard of Oz, Dangerous When Wet, and Anchors Aweigh, the latter two since they feature guest appearances by Tom and Jerry.)

or sony paramount pictures, just like sony bmg music group from 2004-2008

 

[Checkerboard]

i think i did mention sony would buy them...

 

[LinusFan303]

They want to do simulatious talks because ummmm sure. (Go No Deal Go No Deal!)

Paramount Global to Pursue Simultaneous Talks with Sony/Apollo and Skydance as M&A Drama Drags On

Paramount Global will shift to pursuing simultaneous talks with Skydance Media and the Sony/Apollo group as its M&A drama drags on.

variety.com

This one also mentions the Apollo thing too

Sony and Apollo in Talks to Acquire Paramount

After letting exclusive talks with the movie studio Skydance lapse, Paramount’s directors met over the weekend and decided to negotiate with all the suitors.

www.nytimes.com

Any deal between the Sony group and Paramount faces hurdles. Government regulations restrict foreign ownership of broadcast networks and could prevent Sony’s parent company, based in Japan, from owning CBS outright. The bidding group would probably push for Apollo, which is based in the United States, to hold the rights to the CBS broadcast license, according to two people familiar with their strategy.

Also this, already knew part A about Sony, because that's the law. But the other part about Apollo, there's a hang up there, in Boston at least. Apollo owns COX Media Group (which has been fun for COX, not really) and CMG owns WFXT in Boston and CBS owns WBZ and WSBK so um something would have to be done there, can't own three stations like that. Easiest/ Smartest option sell WFXT and keep the duo stations.

Still a bad outcome, Apollo has been ruining the greatness of the COX stations, then again Sky Dance would probably also be bad CBS owners, then again so are the current people.

 

[lowell]

After had a lot of consideration, ultimately, I agreed with you to oppose all deals.

Redstone needs to fix the mess with Paramount, also consider to form the partnership with Comcast to run Paramount+/Peacock, so basically old Hulu when multiple studios own the share.

I rather to see Sony to continue the partnership with Disney to put their movies on Disney+ and Hulu.

I wonder about which is worse? Apollo or Sinclair?

If you look at another angle, I think Sony's also preparing for the long-run here.

In the short-run, you probably can easily squeak by through licensing and partnerships.

They have been subscale for a while compared to others and it explains why they actually want to finally catch up on that.

They are looking at the future here because they want to be diversified in how they bring in revenue, especially when unprecedented crises like pandemics can make a revenue stream like theatrical box office not be able to perform as it normally does.

They are also looking ahead on how to not be dependent on only a few revenue streams in the future.

If they diversified, they would not have to be risking their revenue based on just how their film slate will be hits or misses or home media or content licensing.

That's not to mention, the latest earnings from Paramount Global has showed Bakish did most of the work already on getting through the break-even point and reaching profitability.

On their timeframe, they technically still have a year to prove themselves but the trio succeeding him must pull their weight if they want to reach that milestone.

Sinclair's the one who ended up bankrupting their RSN business last year so they're worse.

At least, Apollo is contemplating potentially cashing out from the joint venture down the road and selling their stake to Sony.

 

[LinusFan303]

If you look at another angle, I think Sony's also preparing for the long-run here.

In the short-run, you probably can easily squeak by through licensing and partnerships.

Licensing has always been a better way to go , it's what TV has done since the very early days, the concept of hoarding and vertical integration is newer. When the networks we talk of when the good rule of not allowing studios to own networks was broke, FOX, UPN, and the WB aired shows from other studios. Warner makes more money from Paramount and local stations airing Friends on their networks than they do with Max subscribers. Same when they had it on Netflix. It would not be wise for Paramount Plus to continue or Sony to go beyond their niche streaming services.

Sinclair's the one who ended up bankrupting their RSN business last year so they're worse.

Sinclair didn't end up bankrupting it as much as like seeing they were a dumpster fire and decided to cleanse the debt. They were a dumpster fire, they bought it around the same time sports were canned because of the virus and other factors came in at the same time like Dish Network throwing a stromp and getting rid of all RSN's , it's not like Sinclair (and Bryon Allen) walked in there and destroyed things in a year. It was already a dumpster fire they couldn't mitigate. In terms of TV station ownership, Sinclair cares about broadcasting to point that Apollo doesn't. Sinclair is not good, apparently none of the current bigger ownerships can be written home about except Hearst, even Graham might be concerning now. Apollo takes over COX which had top stations around the country and respect and is now doing what private equity groups do ....

 

[lowell]

Licensing has always been a better way to go , it's what TV has done since the very early days, the concept of hoarding and vertical integration is newer. When the networks we talk of when the good rule of not allowing studios to own networks was broke, FOX, UPN, and the WB aired shows from other studios. Warner makes more money from Paramount and local stations airing Friends on their networks than they do with Max subscribers. Same when they had it on Netflix. It would not be wise for Paramount Plus to continue or Sony to go beyond their niche streaming services.

Sinclair didn't end up bankrupting it as much as like seeing they were a dumpster fire and decided to cleanse the debt. They were a dumpster fire, they bought it around the same time sports were canned because of the virus and other factors came in at the same time like Dish Network throwing a stromp and getting rid of all RSN's , it's not like Sinclair (and Bryon Allen) walked in there and destroyed things in a year. It was already a dumpster fire they couldn't mitigate. In terms of TV station ownership, Sinclair cares about broadcasting to point that Apollo doesn't. Sinclair is not good, apparently none of the current bigger ownerships can be written home about except Hearst, even Graham might be concerning now. Apollo takes over COX which had top stations around the country and respect and is now doing what private equity groups do ....

I think Sony wants to have the ability to do a hybrid approach, being able to license out works but also still have an established DTC operation through both Crunchyroll and Paramount+.

Having some flexibility would not make them choose one or the other but concentrate on how to bring in revenue in all possible ways.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Looks like David Ellison is getting support from people like James Cameron, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Ari Emanuel.

James Cameron, Ari Emanuel Support Skydance's Paramount Bid

Director James Cameron believes it "could be a huge boon for this business" if David Ellison's Skydance buys Paramount; Ari Emanuel agrees.

www.thewrap.com

Jeffrey Katzenberg On Paramount Drama – “Don’t Count David Ellison Out”

Jeffrey Katzenberg said a Skydance deal would be great for Paramount and Hollywood, and that a deal with Sony, Apollo will face tough FCC.

deadline.com

As Paramount Steers Into Unknown, David Ellison Woos A-Listers to Boost Flagging Bid

While Shari Redstone mulls bids for her empire, the Skydance mogul has labored — mostly in vain — to enlist backers to remind Hollywood that no one in town wants to lose another major studio.

www.hollywoodreporter.com