Paramount's new CEO, David Ellison, has big plans for the media giant, reportedly wanting to turn it into a “media and technology” company. Financial TimesEllison will become president of Paramount after his production studio, Skydance Media, agreed to buy the company, which produces blockbuster movies and franchises such as “Star Wars.” The Godfather, Top Gun, Mission Impossible and Star TrekSkydance served as financial partner on several projects including: Top Gun: Maverick. according to ReutersSkydance will acquire National Amusements, which owns a controlling stake in Paramount, for $2.4 billion.
As Times He noted that Paramount has struggled financially after investing billions in its streaming service, but Paramount+ has yet to turn a profit despite the company's efforts and the launch of an ad-supported plan to get more people to sign up. Earlier this year, the media giant laid off 800 employees, including those at Paramount+. But Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, intends to continue investing in and working on the streaming service.
He plans to restructure Paramount+'s technology to take advantage of modern infrastructure and improve the recommendation algorithms that help users discover new shows. Additionally, he plans to work with his father's company to cut costs and improve efficiency. Jeff Shell, who will be president of the combined company, said: Times Paramount+ plans to partner with other streaming services and strike bundling deals in order to cut costs and encourage customers to continue paying for access. Shell said he's already fielded calls from “a range of potential partners” and will explore deals that could help the service “scale up” and monetize more quickly.
The merger is expected to close next year and will value the new Paramount at $28 billion.
