Paramount, the struggling US entertainment conglomerate, has a new chief executive. David Ellison has big plans and wants to turn the behemoth into a media and tech company.
As the son of multi-billionaire Larry Ellison, who co-founded Oracle, David is awash with cash. He entered the new role after his production company, Skydance Media, agreed to acquire Paramount, the company behind huge films like The Godfather, Top Gun, and Mission: Impossible.
According to Financial Times and Reuters, Skydance is paying $2.4 billion for National Amusements, the firm that holds a controlling stake in Paramount. Talks lasted for months.
In short, Ellison, the latest Hollywood mogul, is now in charge of some of the industry's biggest brands, including Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, and Nickelodeon.
“This is a defining and transformative time for our industry and the storytellers, content creators, and financial stakeholders who are invested in the Paramount legacy and the longevity of the entertainment economy,” said Ellison, as per the press release.
Paramount has been struggling lately. It invested billions in its streaming service Paramount+, but the latter has yet to turn a profit. The streamer botched the Super Bowl livestream earlier this year and is lagging behind rival platforms in terms of subscriptions.
Ellison has a plan, though. On a call with Wall Street investors, he said he wants to revamp Paramount+. Apparently, Ellison wants to use modern infrastructure to improve its recommendation algorithm that helps users find new shows.
Jeff Shell, who will become the combined company's president, told the Financial Times that Paramount+ is going to team up with other streaming services and enter bundling agreements.
Keeping subscribers entertained these days is a struggle, with users tending to jump from one platform to another, canceling the service when they don’t find anything worth watching.
Such consumer behavior has impacted the media industry, pushing more streaming service providers to offer cross-platform solutions. After Disney and Warner Bros. joined forces earlier in the year, a new DIsney+, Hulu, and Max bundle will be available this summer.
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