Paramount Reportedly Discussing Selling Pluto TV Back to Co-Founder
Sale talks surrounding Pluto began before the Skydance merger deal won approval from Paramount executives.
A new age is dawning for Paramount Global. The company has agreed to terms on a complex merger deal with Skydance Media, and is considering the best ways to streamline operations as it seeks $2 billion in cost savings. Paramount executives were on the hunt for savings before the Skydance deal won official approval from the company’s higher-ups, and have engaged with outside buyers about a number of its assets. A new report from Streaming Media Blog states that one of those assets is the free, ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV, which Paramount has discussed selling back to its co-founder Tom Ryan.
Key Details:
- Talks for Pluto TV are in the early stages, as no valuation has been given and no numbers have been exchanged.
- Executives on the Skydance side say they’ll support any deals made by current Paramount management at the right price.
- Other Paramount assets like BET have been discussed as potential divestment targets, though the company is expected to keep Paramount+.
Citing “multiple sources,” Streaming Media Blog says that talks have taken place between Paramount and Pluto’s co-founder — and current Paramount head of streaming — Tom Ryan about selling the service back to him. These discussions began before the Skydance merger was officially accepted by Paramount’s top brass.
Paramount has not revealed monthly active users on Pluto TV in some time, but it did say that the streamer combined with Paramount+ to boost global viewing hours by 27% in the final quarter of 2023. In early July, a study by SRG found that Pluto TV had cracked the top 20 list of “Must Have” TV brands for the first time in its history.
Ryan’s talks with Paramount sound as if they’re in the preliminary stages. Reportedly no numbers have changed hands, nor has an official valuation been placed on Pluto. But according to Jeff Shell, who will take the role of Paramount president when the Skydance merger is completed, incoming management will sign off on deals crafted by current Paramount officials if the price is right.
“There are assets here which we think are not strategic to where we’re going that if we were to get a buyer to pay a price that we thought was compelling, we would absolutely do that,” Shell said after the merger deal was announced. “I know current management is also talking about a couple of transactions that if they get the right price, we’ll be supportive of.”
What Else is Paramount Considering Selling?
Another potential deal in the offing for Paramount is a transaction involving BET. Paramount has had BET on the auction block for more than a year, but so far no potential buyer has met its asking price. That could be changing, as earlier this month reports circulated that the company had held discussions about selling the channel to its current CEO Scott Mills, with a figure around $1.6 billion being discussed.
There are still a few sacred cows for Paramount’s new ownership, however, including Paramount+. But that doesn’t mean the streamer will continue on with no changes; oncoming CEO David Ellison has spoken of the need to make technical improvements to the platform, and Shell has discussed his belief that more windowing of content and enhanced licensing deals could help boost direct-to-consumer revenue for Paramount.
Any transactions will likely need the ascent of Paramount’s new owners if terms are agreed to before Ellison and his team take over. The merger is not expected to see interference from federal regulators, but current shareholders who are leery about their payout under the deal terms are a different story. Mario Gabelli, an investor who represents a huge amount of Paramount shareholders, has already filed a lawsuit to get a closer look at Paramount’s finances, and may go ahead with another suit to try to stop the merger if he feels the value for his clients in the deal isn’t good enough.
The next few months should provide much more clarity when it comes to Paramount’s future. It’s likely that many of the assets the company has eyed selling before will finally be on the move, and it will be fascinating to see if that list includes Pluto TV.
