Paramount's three-person leadership structure will reportedly be shelved and two of its co-CEOs likely to be ousted if its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media goes through.
David Ellison, who will run the combined company as Skydance's current president, chairman and chief executive officer, will oversee a major project involving the consolidation of all of Paramount's television assets, including CBS and MTV, into one division. We are planning large-scale reforms. According to Bloomberg News.
The TV facility is currently jointly managed by co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks.
Cheeks, who is said to have a good relationship with Ellison's deputy Jeff Shell, is expected to remain with the company, but McCarthy's future is up in the air, Bloomberg reported.
Brian Robbins, head of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, is the third member of the troika.
He is expected to leave the new company by the time the merger closes, which could happen as early as March, but people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that no final decision regarding Mr. Robbins will be made. A decision has not yet been made.
Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has worked extensively with Robbins in recent years.
However, according to Bloomberg News, Ellison is said to be considering hiring Skydance production chief Dana Goldberg to head Paramount's film studio.
The Post has reached out to Paramount Global and Skydance for comment.
Skydance helped finance most of Paramount's blockbuster films of the past decade, including “Top Gun: Maverick'' and the latest “Mission: Impossible'' films.
In preparation for the merger to close, Mr. Ellison and his executives have met with Paramount officials to hear their opinions on the company's financial situation, according to Bloomberg.
In September, the debt-laden media giant began the second round of job cuts in a previously announced 2,000-job cut plan.
Employees were told by Ellison that no decisions had been made about further job cuts after the merger was completed, Bloomberg News reported.
Consolidating TV assets is essential for Ellison, given the fact that viewers are abandoning linear broadcasts in large numbers.
Analysts say Paramount's movie studio is also not expected to make a profit this year.
McCarthy, Cheeks and Robbins have been running Paramount since April 29, following the firing of CEO Bob Bakish.
Bakish's opposition to the Skydance merger reportedly soured relations between the executive and Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of National Amusements, Paramount Global's parent company.
Redstone holds a 20% stake in NAI through two trusts in her name, with approximately Sale for $350 millionaccording to Bloomberg.
In addition to buying the Redstone family's 77% stake in NAI for $2.4 billion, Skydance will pay $15 per share and acquire up to $4.3 billion in common stock.
Paramount stock closed at $10.92 on Tuesday.
with post wire
