With the merger officially closed, CEO David Ellison and his team shared their thoughts on what's next for Paramount ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Greetings!

After much drama, the merger between Paramount and Skydance has finally been consummated and we're getting a sense of where New Paramount is headed.

New Paramount CEO David Ellison kicked the morning off with an introductory letter spelling out his mission statement for the company. What caught my eye were the multiple references to technology, and Paramount becoming a more "tech-forward company."

The tale of a company trying to transform its identity to be something trendier isn't new, and there's reason to be skeptical. I still remember when telecom giant AT&T wanted to redefine itself as a media company after the acquisition of DIRECTV and Time Warner — that did not go well.

But with the Skydance, there's reason to be optimistic. Joining Ellison and the rest of the executive team during their press conference today was Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital, a key investor in this merger, who talked about the necessity of embracing technology. "This is not a nice to have — this is a need-to-have moment in Hollywood," he told reporters.

Paramount refashioning itself as a tech-savvy media company comes as many of the tech giants have infiltrated media, from Amazon and Prime Video to Apple and Apple TV+ and Apple Studios. Alphabet's Google controls the single biggest source of online media consumption in YouTube, not to mention YouTube TV.

Paramount, which now has the support of a tech giant of its own in Oracle, seems to be heading in the right direction. But is it too little, too late?

Roger Cheng
Managing Editor of Business and PRO
roger.cheng@thewrap.com

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THE PARAMOUNT-SKYDANCE DEAL IS FINALLY DONE

Ellison, Cardinale, CBS head George Cheeks, Paramount President Jeff Shell and Chief Operating Officer Andy Gordon held their first press gathering since the deal closed, and most stuck to their talking points.

The CEO largely sidelined questions about how he would deal with CBS News following his pledge to appoint an ombudsman to keep track of the claims of bias within the news organization, or whether he would interfere with "60 Minutes" going forward. Instead, Ellison said he didn't want to "politicize our company in any way shape or form."

Shell, however, was more open in a follow-up conversation with our own Lucas Manfredi, saying that real estate assets are "on the table" for sale, as are its cable channels overseas. Back at home, he dismissed the idea that the domestic cable networks like Comedy Centeral and MTV would be spun-off, saying it "doesn't make sense."

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