Control of Paramount, the legendary but troubled TV and movie maker, shifted to Silicon Valley scion David Ellison on Thursday, following a protracted and politically tainted merger process.
The transition was full of symbolism: The Redstone family, which built the company into a cable-era giant that lagged in the streaming era, handed off to the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
David Ellison, who headed the much smaller media company Skydance and is now CEO of the combined company, used the word “tech” ten times in an introductory letter Thursday morning.
He pledged to invest in Paramount’s streaming businesses and upgrade the company’s outdated technology systems.
Ellison’s first act as CEO was also symbolic: He visited the offices of Paramount’s CBS News division, which was dragged through the mud by President Trump during the merger review process.
Trump filed a legally dubious lawsuit against the newsmagazine “60 Minutes” last fall, prompting Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, to authorize her board to seek a settlement rather than fight the case in court.
Redstone had hundreds of millions of dollars riding on the completion of the Paramount-Skydance merger, and many onlookers concluded that Paramount felt it had to pay off Trump to win administration approval of the merger.
The ensuing $16 million settlement and the regulatory review approval were both announced last month, though officials involved in the matter denied that the two were connected.
Trump told reporters that he also has an understanding with Ellison for CBS and other Paramount-owned channels to air public service announcements for Trump-aligned causes.
Ellison was intentionally very quiet during the Trumped-up merger review process. Thursday was his first real chance to articulate his plan for the media company.
“We recognize that realizing our ambitions in today’s dynamic and fiercely competitive global market won’t be easy,” he wrote in his letter, noting “generational change in our industry,” which Ellison, 42, is very much a part of.
He named three priorities: “Investing in our growth businesses anchored by our creative engines and superior storytelling,” “scaling our direct-to-consumer business (Paramount+ and Pluto TV) globally,” and “driving efficiency enterprise-wide with a focus on long-term free cash flow generation.”
Employees are bracing for yet another round of layoffs since Ellison has also signaled to Wall Street that he expects “to not only achieve — but meaningfully exceed — the $2 billion in real efficiencies we previously announced.”
At CBS News on Thursday morning, he acknowledged the stresses of the past year, alluding to the “60 Minutes” lawsuit indirectly. He also expressed his admiration for the news division and the importance of “fact-based journalism,” a person in attendance said.
After brief remarks to the assembled journalists, he was given a tour of the “60 Minutes” offices.
His letter also touted “60 Minutes” by name and nodded to the news division’s “storied” history.
“We take immense pride in CBS News’ legacy of impactful journalism and look forward to continuing to foster a newsroom culture where journalists are empowered, trusted, and equipped to do their best work,” he wrote.
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