BET Networks is no longer being shopped to third-party buyers, the new leadership regime at Paramount Skydance confirmed on Wednesday, August 13 as top executives gathered for a wide-ranging Q&A with journalists.
David Ellison, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the studio that he acquired last week, told reporters that BET and its content franchises would be a key part of the new regime’s streaming strategy. Ellison said the plan is to operate the company with its assets intact — that’s in contrast to the string of assets sales that Paramount Global and its predecessors have done in recent years. BET in particular had been shopped to a number of prospective buyers in private equity and prominent Black investors and stars including Tyler Perry.
Ellison said the concept of keeping Paramount Pictures, CBS and other assets together was a key point of his earliest discussions last year about buying the studio with former Paramount Global chair and majority shareholder Shari Redstone.
“We had this conversation with Shari when we had the first meeting, actually about the company. It is our intention is to keep the company together and invest in that lens,” Ellison said.
“We’re thinking about the cable network is not as declining linear assets that we need to spin them up or deal with somehow. We’re thinking about those brands that we have to redefine,” Ellison said. “Nickelodeon is also one of those. Fids and family is so important to the world and making sure that we’re doing the right thing for Nick and that whole cadre of content is critically important to us as well.”
Overall, Ellison and his top lieutenants sketched out a roadmap for the new Paramount Skydance team’s priorities that include increased investment in the Paramount Pictures studio, CBS and the Paramount+ streaming platform. Ellison and Paramount president Jeff Shell reiterated that the plan is to consolidate the company’s major streaming assets — subscription service Paramount+ and free ad-supported (FAST) platform Pluto TV — into one central service to save operating costs and to make Pluto TV a better driver of subscriptions for Paramount+.
Joining Ellison and Shell at the session were Andy Gordon, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer; George Cheeks, Chair of TV Media; Dana Goldberg, Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Chair of Paramount Television; Josh Greenstein, Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Vice Chair of Platforms; and Cindy Holland, Chair of Direct-to-Consumer.
Asked point blank if the programming budget for Paramount+ will increase to make the service competitive with larger rivals such as Disney+ and HBO Max, Ellison said yes. Cindy Holland, the Netflix alum who is leading streaming operations for the new Paramount, was also blunt when asked if she intends to commission made-for-streaming movies from the sibling studio. “Made for streaming movies are not a priority for me,” she said.
Gerry Cardinale, head of RedBird Capital which also had a big role in financing the $8 billion transaction, offered an expansive view of a team ready to spend what it takes to upgrade Paramount’s aging infrastructure. Cardinale complimented Ellison for being a savvy business executive in addition to having the creative ambition to own a movie studio, Big Three broadcast network and more.
“I’m betting my firm and my career on this deal. That should tell you guys one thing: We are coming, we are going to invest, and we’re going to be really sophisticated. This is not other people’s money,” Cardinale said. He even suggested that the Paramount Skydance ethos would not only change the corporate culture at Paramount and CBS but influence the broader industry.
The new regime is thinking about “How do we build the culture, not just for Paramount but for Hollywood,” Cardinale said. “I could not be more excited. Yes we are going to be investing a lot of money, and we’re going to show the great return on that investment.”
Among other highlights from the Q&A session:
“I’m here because I love movies,” Ellison said flatly when discussing his motivations for executing the complex acquisition that took more than a year to complete. The 42-year-old CEO described Sundays spent watching movies on VHS with his mother. “Our idea of a good time on Sunday was, we had 3,000 VHS movies, and Sunday was the one day we were kids that we could actually do whatever we wanted. And we would just binge all day long.”
Ellison also saluted the star that has had a long association with Paramount and Skydance when pressed about the status of the studio’s follow-up film to 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.
“We’re really proud and honored that in our partnership with Tom, we have made 10 movies together. We want to be in business with Tom for the foreseeable future,” Ellison said. "Top Gun cannot be a bigger priority. I want to be making movies with Tom and telling stories with Tom for as long as he wants to be doing it. There’s nobody who works harder and who loves movies and loves business more.”
Ellison was pressed about the new regime’s view on CBS News. The slog of closing the merger took a toll on the Eye’s news division as President Donald Trump waged war with a baseless $20 billion lawsuit against 60 Minutes over its Kamala Harris interview. A $16 million settlement with Trump paved the way for the FCC to approve the Paramount Global Skydance transaction.
CBS News and the journalism it produces “is something that is incredibly important to me that we couldn’t support more,” Ellison said. “It’s also the area of company that we want to invest in. For sure it’s a vital part of our democracy, and it’s an honor to be part of that organization.
Goldberg, co-chair of Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television, buttressed Ellison’s pledge to invest in strong family and YA-friendly movies and TV shows. “That’s a space we’re going to run toward,” she said.
Goldberg also emphasized that there will be a new approach to managing Paramount’s valuable Star Trek franchise. "Star Trek is absolutely a priority, and it’s priority across the company,” Goldberg said. “We’re not going to be siloed off so that there’s a conversation happening about television and another conversation” about film plans.
Ellison made a point of asserting that the new ownership group is aligned with the interests of Paramount Skydance’s common shareholders. The company is bracing for widespread layoffs that will be part of the company’s pledge to find $2 billion in savings post-merger.
“What we need to do to make sure we can run as efficiently possible can as a company. And then the other is where we need to invest for growth, for long term,” Ellison said. He noted that the Ellison family and RedBird own 70% of the economic interest in the company. “We’re the largest shareholders. So from that standpoint, we’re going to look at everything through a long-term value creation lens.”
