Media mogul Shari Redstone is in talks to sell a controlling stake in National Amusements, the parent company of the sprawling news and entertainment empire that includes the Paramount film studio, CBS and MTV, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
In recent weeks, National Amusements has held talks with Skydance, the media and entertainment company founded by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison. It’s unclear whether a deal will be reached, and the value of Ms Redstone’s stake in the talks could not be determined.
A deal for Paramount, if it comes to fruition, could set the stage for a major shake-up of the media industry next year. Comcast, the TV and cable giant that owns NBCUniversal, is on the hunt for deals. Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns HBO and CNN, is effectively coming on the market next year for arcane tax reasons.
Ms Redstone, 69, who fought a bitter battle with her former allies to retain control of the company, now appears to be seriously considering giving it up. She has held on for years amid broader headwinds facing the traditional media industry, but is exploring her options now that a serious suitor has expressed interest, two of the people said. Ms Redstone’s holdings are facing some economic pressures, including long-term debt obligations and an unreliable advertising market for media companies like Paramount.
Puck previously reported that Ms Redstone and Skydance were in talks. Spokespeople for National Amusements, Ms Redstone and Skydance declined to comment.
A deal for Ms Redstone’s stake in National Amusements would represent a major changing of the guard in the media business. Paramount has been in the Redstone family for decades, since Ms Redstone’s father, the pugnacious dealmaker Sumner Redstone, won the company in a hard-fought bidding war that attracted heavyweights including billionaire Barry Diller.
Paramount, with its bundle of cable channels, a film studio and the CBS broadcast network, has long been considered a takeover target. Ms Redstone began discussions about a deal earlier this year with parties including technology companies such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The feverish deal-making that seems to be sweeping the industry has been driven in part by the slow decline of television. For years, TV companies like Paramount were buoyed by ever-increasing payments from cable distributors. But in recent years, the cable TV business model has begun to collapse as consumers have dropped their cable subscriptions in favour of streaming services like Netflix, leaving traditional TV programmers scrambling for an exit.
Even streaming, once thought to be the saviour of the media business, is showing signs of strain. Old-school TV companies like Paramount, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery are pouring billions of dollars into building streaming services in an attempt to catch Netflix, but none have yet managed to replicate the profits of cable TV.
