Lifestyle
Paramount and Skydance are merging — here are 3 questions we have about the deal
The Paramount logo is displayed at Columbia Square along Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Calif. on March 9, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
There may be no more giddily optimistic time in media than the moment after a big deal is announced.
In the case of the $8.4 billion agreement that would bring in new owners to run Paramount Global, there are a lot of hopes and dreams riding on incoming CEO David Ellison and how he might reshape a media company which includes everything from Paramount Studios and the CBS broadcast network, to cable channels like MTV and BET and the Paramount+ streaming service.
Film lovers dream that if the new company goes forward, it will maintain Paramount as an independent brand, combining Ellison’s Skydance Media with a venerated film studio over 112 years old that’s based in the middle of Los Angeles (they also hope this means the company won’t largely be sold off for parts or swallowed by another huge business, like Sony).
Media insiders wonder if Ellison – backed by $6 billion from his family, including father and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison – can leverage new technologies and Silicon Valley sensibilities to make the company more successful.
And keen observers of power in America hope that nepo baby-turned-mogul David Ellison will serve his family and the company better than previous owner (and fellow nepo baby) Shari Redstone, who inherited Paramount’s parent company National Amusements after the 2020 death of her father, Sumner Redstone. She proceeded to see it lose billions of dollars in value amid a changing media landscape, uncertain leadership and fitful sale negotiations.
Yeah, this may sound like a lot of media nerd nonsense – navel-gazing from an industry notorious for its self-obsession and myopic focus. But a successful rescue of Paramount can also point the way toward a shiny future for an increasingly uncertain media industry, where profits, product and audience are harder to come by. And failure could mean the company that is home to NCIS, Star Trek, MTV and Yellowstone might vanish into media history.
To succeed, Ellison and his backers must answer a load of pressing questions. Here are the ones which loom largest in my mind:
Can new owners really turn around a company that’s grounded in media businesses currently in serious decline?
One of Paramount Global’s biggest challenges is that it’s a media company packed with several businesses that are all struggling at once. Cable channels hobbled by cord cutting. A streaming service which isn’t expected to turn a profit until sometime next year. A broadcast network with an aging audience. A regional theater chain facing declines in moviegoing. And, as the global financial services company Moody’s noted in a recent statement, Paramount is merging with a smaller media company that doesn’t own or control much of its own intellectual property: Skydance Media.
Ellison and Jeff Shell, the former NBCUniversal CEO who would be president of the new company when the deal closes, told Wall Street analysts some of their ideas in a call Monday morning, saying Paramount+ would likely succeed as a part of an “ultimate bundle” of streaming services, with plans to completely rebuild the platform’s technology. When it came to their more traditional businesses, like cable TV channels, they talked of managing the decline while implementing $2 billion in cost savings.
But I think mid-level streaming services struggle because they have a tough time offering enough content to convince customers they should be prioritized above or alongside big players like Netflix and Disney+. Will redesigning the platform and getting wedged into a bundle next to bigger players really help distinguish their company?
How will the company be run until the deal closes … in 2025?
The purchase isn’t expected to close until sometime next year. Until then, Paramount Global will likely still be run by the group of three co-CEOs who currently guide the company. Which means a plan could still go forward that the CEOs announced last month, cutting $500 million in costs while exploring the sale of some assets. Black culture-focused cable channel BET has long been the subject of speculation that it might be sold to a mogul like Tyler Perry or Weather Channel owner Byron Allen, for instance.
Producer David Ellison attends the Royal Film Performance and UK Premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick” at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England.
Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
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Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Last month, online archives for MTV News, CMT news and Comedy Central, which were filled with decades of journalism on pop and country music, were pulled down without warning or explanation by the company. Will more surprise cutbacks surface over the next few months that limit or eliminate content?
In an odd way, it might make sense for Paramount to make more painful reductions now, before the new owners are officially in charge, so Ellison, Shell and their teams can take over outside the shadow of layoffs or serious cutbacks.
When Ellison and Co. take over, it will mean that yet another Hollywood studio will be dominated by Silicon Valley money, including MGM’s purchase by Amazon and the rise of major players like Apple TV+ and Netflix. Which leads to another big question: Will Paramount Global leverage the resources and innovation of the tech world to reinvent a major studio for the modern media moment, or have the forces which are hobbling the company progressed too far?
Will something else happen that could overturn the deal?
Federal regulators must weigh in. And there’s a 45 day window where Paramount’s board of directors could field another offer (though they would have to pay the Skydance group $400 million). Also, stockholders outside the Redstone family who feel shortchanged could file a lawsuit.
But in the rosy glow of a just-announced deal, all these challenges seem like rapidly shrinking images in the rearview mirror. A new brain trust has emerged, aimed at proving that a mid-level media company can survive in today’s times, as the daughter of one business titan hands the reins of her complicated company to the son of another.
Whether any of this adds up to a solution which can save Paramount while also helping cure what ails modern media on a larger scale, may be the biggest question of all.
Ariana Grande arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The brightest stars in TV and film kicked off the 83rd annual Golden Globes tonight in Beverly Hills, Calif. with Ariana Grande, Noah Wyle, Teyana Taylor and George Clooney are just some the names who walked the red carpet. This year’s ceremony was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.
Here’s a glimpse of what some of the attendees are wearing tonight.
Michael B. Jordan
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Ryan Coogler and Zinzi Evans
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Jean Smart
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Teyana Taylor
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Jenna Ortega
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Owen Cooper
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Sara Wells and Noah Wyle
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Claire Danes
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Stellan Skarsgård and Megan Everett-Skarsgard
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Amy Poehler
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EJAE
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Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman
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Paul Mescal
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Adam Brody and Leighton Meester
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Laufey
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Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons
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Chris Olsen
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Lisa Ann Walter
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Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song
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Jacob Elordi
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Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
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Ryan Destiny
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Jennifer Garner
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Rose Byrne
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Kate Hudson
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Snoop Dogg
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Timothée Chalamet
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Miley Cyrus
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George Clooney and Amal Clooney
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Leonardo DiCaprio
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Michel Martin
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Steve Inskeep
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Leila Fadel
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A Martinez
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Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy
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Amanda Seyfried
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William Stanford Davis
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Tessa Thompson
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Kathy Bates
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Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell
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Skylar Diggins
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Monica Padman
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Adam Scott and Naomi Scott
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Jayme Lawson
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Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson
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Emma Stone
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Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall
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Nischelle Turner
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Brett Goldstein
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Parker Posey
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Vince Gilligan
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Chloé Zhao
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Mark Ruffalo and Sunrise Coigney
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Hannah Einbinder
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Sheryl Lee Ralph
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Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key
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Justin Sylvester
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Judd Apatow and Lesley Mann
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Keltie Knight
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Sarah Snook
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Glen Powell
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Piper Curda
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Justine Lupe
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Helen Hoehne
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Natasha Rothwell
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Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis
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Minnie Driver
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Orlando Bloom
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Hudson Williams
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Connor Storrie
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Erin Doherty
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Wanda Sykes
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Nikki Glaser
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Julia Roberts
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Emily Blunt
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Chris Perfetti
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Rhea Seehorn
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Dakota Fanning
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Queen Latifah
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2026 Golden Globes
Nikki Glaser Shouts Out Rob Reiner …
Dons ‘Spinal Tap’ Hat at Close of Show
Published
Rob Reiner wasn’t forgotten at this year’s Golden Globe awards … because host Nikki Glaser paid tribute to him just weeks after his murder.
Here’s the deal … during the sign-off for the awards show, Nikki came onstage wearing a black and white “Spinal Tap” hat — the band which serves as the subject of Reiner’s iconic 1984 mockumentary of the same name.
Worth noting … the Golden Globes do not typically air an in memoriam — so this was the only time Reiner was mentioned at the show.
As you know … Rob and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home last month. Their son Nick Reiner has been arrested for murder in connection to the case.
TMZ.com
Nick’s arraignment was scheduled for last week … but, his lawyer Alan Jackson dropped out of the case — leaving Nick with a public defender and new arraignment date set for late February.
Jackson told a gaggle of reporters outside the courthouse that Nick’s not guilty … but, he simply can’t defend him. He did not provide a reason for his withdrawal.
Our new documentary “TMZ Investigates The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” dives into Rob and Michele’s grisly deaths … as well as Nick’s history of mental health issues and even how his weight gain set him on a dangerous path.
“TMZ Investigates The Reiner Murders: What Really Happened” is now streaming on Hulu.
On-air challenge
Today’s puzzle is called “Pet Theory.” Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first word start starts PE- and the second word starts T-. (Ex. What walkways at intersections carry –> PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC)
1. Chart that lists all the chemical elements
2. Place for a partridge in “The 12 Days of Christmas”
3. Male voyeur
4. What a coach gives a team during halftime in the locker room
5. Set of questions designed to reveal your traits
6. Something combatants sign to end a war
7. Someone who works with you one-on-one with physical exercises
8. Member of the Who
9. Incisors, canines, and premolars that grow in after you’re a baby
10. Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score this at the Olympics
11. What holds the fuel in a British car
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge was a numerical one from Ed Pegg Jr., who runs the website mathpuzzle.com. Take the nine digits — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can group some of them and add arithmetic operations to get 2011 like this: 1 + 23 ÷ 4 x 5 x 67 – 8 + 9. If you do these operations in order from left to right, you get 2011. Well, 2011 was 15 years ago. Can you group some of the digits and add arithmetic symbols in a different way to make 2026? The digits from 1 to 9 need to stay in that order. I know of two different solutions, but you need to find only one of them.
Challenge answer
12 × 34 × 5 – 6 – 7 + 8 – 9 [or] 1 + 2 + 345 × 6 – 7 × 8 + 9
Winner
Daniel Abramson of Albuquerque, N.M.
This week’s challenge
This week’s challenge comes from listener Ward Hartenstein. Think of a well-known couple whose names are often said in the order of _____ & _____. Seven letters in the names in total. Combine those two names, change an E to an S, and rearrange the result to name another famous duo who are widely known as _____ & _____.
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, January 15 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
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