Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Nov 10, 2024
It has been a tough year for the entertainment industry. The post-strike recovery has been shaky on the whole, the job market feels as though it’s being squeezed, and the ever growing tech sector is ever encroaching on Hollywood. In a climate of layoffs and consolidation, the biggest story in the entertainment business has been Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount Global, a business move that was a long time coming and a journey to say the least. A tale of pride, love, and business executives going in circles, this is the story (so far!) of Paramount and Skydance, and what it means for the future of the industry.
Before diving in, it’s useful to know the major players and how the companies involved got to where they are now. The head spinning history of Hollywood is one of antitrust suits and A&M deals, so hold onto your balance sheets. Often, when someone says “Paramount”, they’re referring to Paramount Pictures, the storied film production and distribution company with a gorgeous studio lot in the heart of LA, responsible for beloved franchises like ‘Top Gun’, the ‘Indiana Jones’ sequels, and more recently ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’. Paramount Pictures is a subsidiary of Paramount Global, once called ViacomCBS after, you guessed it, Viacom and CBS merged in 2019 (and from here on out, “Paramount” refers to Paramount Global). This isn’t the first time CBS and Viacom were housed under one roof; Viacom was originally spun off from CBS Enterprises in the 70s, which gave a company called National Amusements the opportunity to acquire Viacom (along with Paramount Pictures and other subsidiaries) in 1987. At the time, Sumner Redstone was the head honcho at National Amusements. Over time, his company managed to collect and reunite various pieces of the splintered CBS Enterprises, and now own a controlling interest in Paramount Global.
Confused? Let’s take a short break to talk about Skydance Media. Founded in 2006 by David Ellison (Oracle mogul Larry Ellison’s son), Skydance is a film production and finance company that has done extremely well for itself, and whose resume includes a handful of ‘Mission: Impossible’ sequels and the ‘Jack Reacher’ franchise. Their strengths lie in strategy and adaptability, the latter of which Hollywood in general can really struggle with. Skydance’s production arms in film, TV, games, and new media are all chugging along smoothly, meaning they were well positioned when rumors started to spread that Shari Redstone, Sumner’s daughter and the current head of National Amusements, was looking to sell Paramount.
One by one, Hollywood’s legacy studios have been acquired by newer, faster, techier, more profitable companies, and in what feels like a regular course of nature now, Redstone began looking for buyers for Paramount early in 2024. Ellison was one of the first in line, but it would be a long winding road to get back around to Skydance’s offer. Despite Ellison’s reported initial offer of $2.5 billion for National Amusements, Redstone decided to entertain other options. In February, talks with David Zaslav at Warner Bros. Discovery ended with no acquisition or merger for Paramount, so Redstone decided to return to talks with Skydance in early April. Later that month, Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management considered bidding on Paramount, at a much, much higher price than Skydance. Just after Bob Bakish stepped down as CEO and was replaced with a trio of officers (allegedly because he pushed back against any merger of Paramount), Sony officially put in a bid at $26 billion for Paramount. Note: not two-point-six billion; Twenty-six billion for Paramount. Skydance had previously offered two-point-five billion for National Amusements. The deals are different, but more on this enormous delta later. Somewhere between that bid and the end of May, though, Sony and Apollo got cold feet and were pulling back from their all-cash offer. In the meantime, Skydance revised its deal proposal for National Amusements, a combination of cash and debt relief, and even got to the point of an announcement co-authored by Paramount and Skydance on June 3rd. But, Redstone pulled the plug. National Amusements essentially vetoed the deal, and it seemed like it was back to square one.
After considering a myriad of other buyers, including writer Steven Paul, business mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., founder of Patrón Tequila John Paul DeJoria, and former Paramount Pictures CEO Barry Diller, National Amusements came back to the table and finally struck a deal with Skydance. The two phase deal approved on July 7th will start with a cash purchase of National Amusements valued at $2.4 billion and Paramount Global buying back $4.5 billion in its own stock. Paramount also gets a $1.5 billion cash infusion to help with its debt. Once phase one is complete, Skydance and Paramount will execute an all-stock merger to become New Paramount (very catchy name, not to mention creative). The “go shop” period for Paramount to find a better offer has now passed, and it seems as though everything is in order. Unfortunately, Paramount is still “streamlining”, carrying out enormous layoffs and selling some of its subsidiary assets, and reception to this merger has been mixed. Entertainment unions and creatives generally oppose the trend of consolidation in the industry, but if Paramount had to merge with someone, Skydance looks like the best option. They’re not a company so large that it overpowers this legacy but struggling studio, and they have a champion of creative filmmaking at the helm, Plus, they have been frequent collaborators for years, co-producing dozens of movies.
Though the dust seems to be settling, SkyDance and Paramount have a few more hurdles to clear before the deal officially closes sometime in 2025. Sales and mergers regarding broadcasting, which this deal does since it includes CBS under the umbrella of Paramount, require federal approval from the FCC, not to mention these are two major players merging in an industry that has faced antitrust scrutiny in the past. Ironic that it must be mentioned when said scrutiny was called the Paramount Decrees. Recently, there has been concern over damage to Paramount shareholders, given the drastic difference in bids between Skydance and Sony, but it remains to be seen how the market will react once the merger kicks in. At the end of the day, many are relieved to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but who knows where the tunnel leads?
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
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