Angelica Rosas McDaniel’s Post

Anyone who has ever set foot on the historic Paramount Pictures lot, must be disturbed by William Cohan 's reporting in Puck about Sony and Apollo Global Management, Inc. teaming up to buy the studio's parent company, Paramount Global (formerly Viacom). Gone will be hundreds of jobs in "marketing, distribution, business affairs, digital programming, etcetera. That might generate $3 billion in savings. " If that isn't bad enough.... the " extraordinary Paramount lot, near Hancock Park, would get sold for as much as another $1 billion." Is there a more iconic image of Hollywood and movie magic than the Paramount gate? (see below) Cohan also reports that "Paramount’s films would go to Sony Pictures, and any projects in production, on the shelf, or that need a turnaround, would also go to Sony." The consolidation of media continues to be troubling. Apollo's hand in the Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK merger hasn't been a home run for journalists or consumers. As for Sony, government regulations prohibit foreign companies from owning TV networks & stations so what would that mean for CBS. So Apollo likely would fold CBS with its majority stake in the Cox stations. But that will likely exceed the limit the government permits any one company to own. So some stations may be sold. Does any of this sound good for journalism? Consumers? The entertainment business? Probably not, but read Bill Cohan 's work because it is good for shareholders of Paramount. There is an alternative that might not be great for shareholders but has proven pros like Jeff Zucker ready to right the Paramount ship. https://lnkd.in/eNTVaNYs

Very curious to see how this one shakes out considering Allen’s past attempts to bid for ABC, Tegna, E.W Scripps, BET, and Paramount! Paramount Pictures and its surrounding production resources have tremendous potential if paired with the right buyer. CBS, with an NFL rights contract that runs through 2033, is likely the only linear TV asset that retains a fraction of the value Shari Redstone sees in it. The time to sell was 3-4 years ago; think Murdoch starting a bidding war for Fox’s theatrical assets and generating a 71.3 billion dollar sale price. Paramount’s best fit for a buyer is someone looking to replicate Sony’s “content dealer” license revenue model with streamers, or a PE firm with mountains of cash and large scale holdings in linear TV (looking at you Apollo). https://lnkd.in/guUM88_j

Edgar Bronfman Jr. submitted a $4.3 billion rival bid to acquire Paramount Global, challenging the existing offer. This unexpected move shakes up the media landscape, sparking excitement and uncertainty about the future of Paramount Global and the industry as a whole. what implications do you see for the industry? Join the conversation and share your insights! #MediaMergers #ParamountGlobal #EdgarBronfmanJr

Hollywood is broken and the upfronts make it clear why. Warner Bros. Discovery Ad chief’s comments this week 👇 sound like Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock (a satire). Does anyone turn on the TV or go to the movies to see “IP”? No. They go for stories. I make content for a living and good work is not a “product” like pop tarts or ball bearings you “turn out” at “maximum efficiency”. Great creative is messy, unpredictable and bespoke. But when your bottom line depends on tonnage of hours, not quality of moments, and your debt is $45B (3x your market cap), I guess you have to tell people it’s a “factory”. Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer Jon Steinlauf: “And I make the point because it really typifies who we are as a company. And Kathleen Finch is this content leader who's got all these production factories operating at high efficiency with great creative minds, and they're pumping out WBD IP. And the product is then being distributed in places where people are choosing to view it.” #media #business #satire

📉 Paramount Global in Sales Mode: The entertainment giant is in the spotlight as Shari Redstone considers a sale, with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway recently slashing its stake by one-third. Shares dipped to $12.83 after the sell-off, closing at $12.00 on Friday. 🎬 🔄 Industry Shake-up: As Paramount faces potential takeovers, including bids from Skydance Media and RedBird Capital, the future of Paramount+ hangs in the balance. Market analysts anticipate significant divestitures, emphasizing the evolving challenges in the entertainment sector. 💼 Morale Hit: Paramount recently laid off +800 employees, adding to the company's challenges and impacting morale. This, coupled with Buffett's stake cut, underscores the uncertainties, amplifying the studio's struggles and raising questions about the broader industry landscape. Stay tuned for Paramount's Q4 and full-year 2023 earnings results on Feb. 28. 💼📈 #ParamountGlobal #EntertainmentIndustry #SalesMode #IndustryChallenges https://lnkd.in/duyzFVWa

📺🌟 Our very own Verica Djurdjevic recently joined other senior leaders from Sky and ITV to share insights on the latest innovations, collaborations, and challenges in the UK television advertising market. The topic of data integrity took centre stage, where leaders discussed how to build trust in a competitive landscape with competing data sets with different objectives 🔄💡 Read more about the event ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eMDpmZSm Channel 4 The Media Leader #FTVAGlobal #TelevisionAdvertising #Innovations #Collaboration #DataIntegrity #TVIndustryInsights

#NewsFeed "Tough challenges await new Paramount CEO" Link: https://buff.ly/3S9Ld6C "Like many entertainment companies, Paramount is facing a decline in theatrical box office revenue as audiences haven’t returned to movie theaters with the same frequency as before the COVID-19 pandemic. Add to that Paramount’s particular woes with its money-losing streaming business as well as its heavy investment in cable networks that face challenges from cord cutting and declining advertising dollars, and it’s clear there is a lot for Ellison and his investors to fix. Paramount’s three current co-CEOs have already embarked on a $500-million cost-cutting plan that will continue as the Skydance transaction unspools. That plan involves evaluating the sale of certain Paramount assets, potentially including BET, as well as an unspecified number of layoffs. During an investor presentation Monday, Skydance executives said they had identified as much as $2 billion in “cost efficiencies” that would help increase cash flow. It’s no secret that linear television revenue is declining as more customers cut the cord and abandon their traditional cable and satellite packages. But though the financial returns are diminishing, the cable networks are still making money for Paramount. That makes them an important asset to keep managing — strategically. Last year, Paramount’s TV media segment, which includes CBS and the cable networks, brought in about $20 billion, or 68% of the company’s total revenue, according to its annual report. But that was about an 8% decrease compared with 2022. Things were slightly better in the first fiscal quarter of 2024, when TV media brought in $5.2 billion in revenue, an increase of 0.7% compared with the same period a year ago." Find us: #frameworkfinancials #accounting #productionaccounting #finance #news #investing #analsysis #losangeles #california #economics #film #movies #filmla #film&tv #taxincentives #permitting #productionfinance #tv #netflix #amazon #hbo #disney #paramount #cbs #redstone

Interesting read on the state of the Mouse.

Stories that caught my eye this week 👀📰 A very Australia and Mediaweek-focused selection of stories, this week. Firstly, a big day of news over here at Mediaweek Australia: 1. 'Jarrod Villani departs Paramount after three years': Tess Connery https://lnkd.in/g_QZmVbg And I wrote about my interviews with Mark Ritson and Adam Ferrier at CRA's HEARD conference. 2. 'Ritson on radio as the ultimate sidekick, “shithouse” CMOs, and injecting “bogan humour” into ads' https://lnkd.in/gf-XGAkM 3. 'Ferrier: Radio is undervalued, should be “quadruple the price”' https://lnkd.in/gK28DZy2 Ritson disagrees: "You’re not gonna put the price of radio up. What you’re gonna have to do is accept that Robin’s never gonna get beefy enough to be stronger than Batman." We also spoke about this week's Vegemite x Taylor Swift billboard, which took four hours to turn around, made up of key people across Thinkerbell, Starcom Australia, and Bega each spending four minutes on it. Except for Ben 'Cuz' Couzens, who "drove onto the freeway and took a photo [of the billboard for press] with his wife on Valentine’s Day. Apparently he had to jump a fence.” 4. 'Looking back, looking forward: TBWA's Paul Bradbury': Me for Campaign Asia-Pacific https://lnkd.in/gU2cvYwP 5. 'Aussie managing director set to leave IPG’s Huge following Mat Baxter departure' Lauren McNamara for Mumbrella https://lnkd.in/g26VTm6G "My skills are in higher demand with her team in NYC and London, rather than in Australia. Considering my family’s decision to remain in Australia and my desire to be present, managing from afar or relocating is not feasible for us."

⛰ Paramount announced CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down as investors continue to eye the company's dealmaking options. 🚫 The company had been preparing to announce that Bakish's departure amid the executive's growing tensions with Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount through her family's holding company National Amusements, according to media reports. 👨👩👧 Paramount said it would install an “Office of the CEO” consortium made up of three company division heads in place of Bakish. Here's what you need to know on Yahoo Finance ⤵ #paramount #ceo #executive #bobbakish #earnings #media #ceo