Christian Grece’s Post

From the Journal: In recent weeks, Redstone has met with Skydance Media Chief Executive David Ellison and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick about a potential sale, according to people familiar with those talks. Meanwhile, Paramount is bracing for further cost cuts. The company has discussed laying off more than 1,000 workers early next year, people with knowledge of the discussions said.  A weaker-than-expected ad-sales market has caused the company to more aggressively cut costs to meet its promise to investors that it would deliver positive earnings growth in 2024. The company has been paring down its head count since earlier this year. Plus, the company’s carriage deals with two of the biggest cable companies in the country are set to expire in the coming months. That Redstone is discussing a sale of National Amusements after battling with her late father Sumner Redstone, his girlfriends and senior company executives for control, is a sign of the difficult choices #media executives are confronting. Paramount’s once-lucrative cable channels are in structural decline; #Hollywood is still recovering from months long actor and writers strikes that froze productions; and its flagship Paramount+ #streaming business continues to burn cash. She had hoped Paramount’s stock would rebound before entertaining offers. Paramount’s shares were down almost 12% this year to $15 a share Thursday, before a report from newsletter Puck that Skydance was discussing buying National Amusements. The stock closed on Monday at $16.24 per share.  Many of the potential buyers for Paramount, which owns cable networks such as Nickelodeon and BET and broadcast network CBS, are primarily interested in its movie studio. That is a nonstarter for Redstone, who is adamant that Paramount Pictures, the crown jewel of the company and an asset her father insisted on keeping, not be sold on its own. Buyers that have considered a play for National Amusements’ assets include billionaires, studios, streamers and private-equity companies. Netflix executives have broached the idea of a potential deal for some assets National Amusements controls as recently as this year, though conversations have cooled as the streamer focuses on its efforts to limit password sharing, according to people familiar with the situation. The streamer was particularly interested in Paramount’s movie studio, Paramount Pictures, home to hits such as “Mission Impossible,” and “Top Gun,” some of the people said.  Skydance’s Ellison, with its investor RedBird Capital Partners, also expressed interest in Paramount’s movie studio in recent weeks and is open to a deal for all of National Amusements to get it, those people said. Then there is Warner Bros. Discovery, whose chief executive David Zaslav has weighed the pros and cons of making a run at Paramount Redstone and #Paramount CEO Bob Bakish have so far been keen to only sell noncore assets and keep as much of the company intact as possible.