Bob Bakish Reportedly Departing From Paramount as Skydance Merger Appears to Draw Closer
Reports indicate Bakish could be out as soon as Monday as Paramount continues merger talks with Skydance Media.
Paramount Global has not completed its merger with Skydance Media, but it appears it’s taking the next step in that process. According to multiple reports, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is set to resign from the company under pressure and could see his exit come as early as Monday. Bakish has been sitting in the top chair since 2018 when CBS and Viacom merged into Paramount Global, but his vision for the company’s future is no longer aligned with the goals of its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone.
Key Details:
- Bakish has been an opponent of the merger with Skydance.
- Executives at CBS are concerned about what will happen to the company’s TV networks after Bakish’s departure.
- Skydance CEO David Ellison plans to take the top spot at the new Paramount Global, backed up by former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Shell.
Bakish was CEO of Viacom when it combined with CBS to create Paramount Global six years ago. Ever since, Bakish has tried to do his best to grapple with a fast-changing media landscape where cable channels can no longer be counted on as steady revenue drivers and the success of streaming platforms has come under strict scrutiny by Wall Street.
Talk of Bakish exiting the company first began in earnest when Paramount and Skydance entered into exclusive negotiations to merge in early April. However, Deadline is reporting that as the acquisition continues to move closer to reality, staffers at CBS are concerned that it will lead to Paramount divesting itself of its TV networks at some point in the post-merger future, despite initial reports that Skydance wants to keep Paramount as one company.
“We knew changes were coming, but no one expected Bob to go so fast,” one Paramount Global executive told Deadline. “Who knows what’s next?”
The news of Bakish’s departure may not help Paramount’s shareholders feel better about the sale. Investor Mario Gabelli — whose firm GAMCO Investors owns more Paramount shares than anyone except Redstone — said in early April that he would rather see no mergers or acquisitions involving Paramount come to fruition, in large part because he thought Bakish had the company on the right track long-term.
“There’s no question I’d rather see no sale,” Gabelli told The New York Post. “I’m a firm believer in what Bakish is doing and I think he can pull it off and the stock will be worth substantially more.”
What Comes Next for Paramount?
Since Bakish has opposed Paramount’s merger with Skydance, his exit from the company can be interpreted as another sign that the merger is going ahead. Last week, it was reported that Skydance had asked for a two-week extension of its exclusive negotiating period with Paramount in order to close the deal once and for all. A negotiation with Charter Communications to continue carrying Paramount-owned networks looms large as a hurdle to clear before the merger can go through, and Paramount may not want an executive who has opposed the merger to represent it in such key talks with a cable distributor.
If the merger does go through, reports indicate that former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell would step in as current Skydance head David Ellison’s number two, and one-time CNN chief Jeff Zucker would take a big role running CBS News. Both executives have decades of experience working in television and could help revitalize Paramount’s broadcast and cable networks.
All signs point to the dawning of a new day for Paramount Global, one which will see it merged with Skydance Media in order to become a stronger company that can compete in the next evolution of the entertainment industry. But it appears current Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish will not be part of the new Paramount regime, and could be dismissed from the company as early as Monday.
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