TGIT! Here's the latest on Paramount, the NYT, NPR, Mark Levin, MSNBC, Jessica Rosenworcel, ESPN, Universal, "Hamilton," and much more... |
The David Ellison era of Paramount Skydance begins today.
The protracted and politically tainted transaction, shifting control of Paramount's iconic media brands from Shari Redstone to Ellison and Gerry Cardinale, officially "closed," in merger speak, just a few minutes ago.
Ellison and some of his key lieutenants are dropping by the CBS News offices in NYC right now — a symbolic first stop on his tour around the newly combined company. Then it's off to Paramount's Times Square HQ for, among other meetings, a luncheon with media reporters.
Ellison was intentionally very quiet during the Trumped-up merger review process. Today is his first real chance to articulate his plan for the media company, beginning with this open letter to employees, shareholders, and consumers.
"We recognize that realizing our ambitions in today's dynamic and fiercely competitive global market won't be easy," he wrote, 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."
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Ellison's 'big push to digital frontiers' |
Ellison "was once shrugged off as a billionaire's son (his father is Oracle founder Larry Ellison) with an airplane collection," Variety's Matt Donnelly writes in this walk-up piece. "But sources across the media sphere say that he has matured into a worthy leader, with a grasp of both the business and the art of making movies and shows."
THR's Steven Zeitchik and Alex Weprin have another excellent look ahead here, noting that Ellison has privately "talked up his tech game and has cited family friend Steve Jobs as a mentor who gave him early tough love on Skydance." Their sources indicate that Ellison is keenly interested in gaming, reflecting his plan to "make a big push to digital frontiers."
Ellison has assembled a strong senior leadership team and has foreshadowed big changes. (Backend tech functions at Paramount are "archaic," Donnelly's story says, and Ellison's letter this morning pledges to fix that, citing "tech" ten times.) But Donnelly also notes that Ellison has "never run something as massive as Paramount, with its more than 18,000 employees." His first town hall with staffers will be fascinating to watch, especially since he's telling Wall Street that he expects "to not only achieve — but meaningfully exceed — the $2 billion in real efficiencies we previously announced."
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Still pursuing The Free Press? |
Ellison's letter also touts "60 Minutes" by name and nods to the news division's "storied" history. He says "we recognize it's been a challenging period and we're deeply grateful for your resilience, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to the news business. 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."
CBS News president Tom Cibrowski sent a note to the newsroom this morning encouraging people to come welcome Ellison. One topic the CEO will likely dodge if asked: Anything relating to his meetings with Bari Weiss and pursuit of The Free Press. There is no deal at the moment. There has also been buzz about David Rhodes possibly returning to run CBS News, "but, as of now, that doesn’t appear to be happening," Oliver Darcy reported in Status last night.
Speaking of Paramount's assets...
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'South Park' does it again |
Last night the animated series "stepped up its rampage against the Trump administration in the highly anticipated second episode of its new season, targeting numerous conservative figures," from Kristi Noem and JD Vance to Charlie Kirk. The Daily Beast's Michael Boyle has a recap here.
>> Ellison's letter also references the show, saying "our focus remains on investing in areas where we see meaningful opportunity for growth, as demonstrated by our recent five-year global streaming exclusivity deal for South Park on Paramount+."
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Teeing up Trump with misinfo |
For the past decade, I have been writing newsletter items about President Trump being misled by his right-wing media sources. (Remember "last night in Sweden" in 2017?) Rarely, though, have I seen an example as clear and on-camera as this one:
While reporters asked important questions during an Oval Office photo op yesterday, Brian Glenn of Real America's Voice threw out an "entertainment" topic for Trump to chew on. Glenn mentioned Stephen Colbert's cancellation, then said "Howard Stern announced" that he is "parting ways" with SiriusXM, and suggested the "hate-Trump business model" has failed.
The problem: Stern hasn't announced anything like that. As we wrote yesterday, there is a tabloid story saying SiriusXM doesn't expect Stern to accept their new contract offer, but Glenn's statement was all wrong. Trump sounded surprised — "What happened? He got terminated?" — but went along with the premise, since, after all, Glenn is one of his very favorite White House questioners...
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Thus, Trump was misinformed, in real time, and regurgitated the misinfo to the public. Trump went on to claim that his old shock jock pal Stern "went down when he endorsed Hillary Clinton." (His implication was that Stern's show became a failure, but four years after that endorsement, SiriusXM signed Stern to another five-year contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.)
Anyway, an ordinary White House correspondent would feel mortified for misinforming POTUS like that. But Glenn is a pro-Trump internet personality. |
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