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Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer What does the future hold for Paramount Global? The odds of a seismic M&A event seem to be increasing: Private-equity firm Apollo Global has reportedly offered $11 billion for Paramount’s Hollywood studios. Short of carving up the “mountain of entertainment,” as the Paramount+ tagline boasts, analysts say the overture could drive up bidding for the entirety of Paramount Global — which is what Shari Redstone, who owns a controlling stake in the media conglomerate, is understood to prefer. Given that backdrop, let’s consider what Paramount Global comprises — and the potential effect of selling it off in its entirety or in pieces.

Despite the rigors of the ongoing transition from linear TV to streaming, NFL Chief Media & Business Officer Brian Rolapp expects traditional media partners like Fox, NBCUniversal, Disney and Paramount to remain viable for years to come.

Paramount Global shares, which soared Wednesday on news that Apollo had made an $11 billion offer for Paramount Pictures, has slumped today after a report splashed cold water on the scenario.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Shari Redstone looks like she remains firmly opposed to breaking up Paramount Global. Redstone, president of National Amusements Inc. — the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global — was “unconvinced” by Apollo Global Management’s $11 billion offer to buy Paramount’s film and TV studio, the Financial Times reported, citing anonymous sources.

Shares of Paramount Global popped in afternoon trade on a report that Apollo Global has made an $11 billion bid for the company’s film and TV studio. The private equity giant has been in and out of the mix of suitors, which also include David Ellison‘s Skydance Media and Byron Allen.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Apollo Global Management, a major private-equity firm, has submitted an $11 billion bid to acquire Paramount Pictures, according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported that Apollo Global offered $11 billion for Paramount Global’s film and TV studio business. That would apparently not include CBS, Paramount Global’s cable networks or the streaming business that includes Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

Paramount Global has sold its 13% equity interest in Viacom18 Media to Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries for the equivalent $517 million.

Paramount Global chief financial officer Naveen Chopra said management is chipping away at debt, cutting costs, heading towards streaming profitability and otherwise “focused on execution” but won’t ignore other opportunities to create value for shareholders.

Los Angeles’ Ethics Commission has rejected Les Moonves’ $11,250 settlement with the city over information leaked to the once powerful CBS CEO by a LAPD officer about sexual assault allegations.

Justin Hartley certainly has a proven track record when it comes to post-Super Bowl dramas.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The CEO of Paramount Global urged staffers at the entertainment conglomerate to focus on their 2024 business goals, even as a handful of industry heavy hitters and investment firms explore a potential acquisition of the company and speculation about looming layoffs intensifies. In a memo issued to employees Thursday and reviewed by Variety, Bob Bakish acknowledged that Paramount’s future “remains a topic of speculation,” a nod to the fact that a group of investors led by Skydance founder David Ellison have engaged in talks with Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone.

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish said today the company will continue to reduce its global workforce “to operate as a leaner company and spend less.” But there were no further details in a memo to staff obtained by Deadline following a “Bob Live” town hall today.  

David Ellison’s Skydance is said to have made a preliminary offer to buy Shari Redstone’s stake in National Amusements, the family holding company that controls Paramount Global, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Offer is the name of a series on Paramount+. Now, it could be the logline for Paramount Global.

Shari Redstone’s Paramount Global is seen as having reached a grow-or-sell crossroads that has the potential to set other transactions in motion — the pinball effect when one sizable company puts the “For Sale” sign out. (For the record, neither Paramount Global nor Redstone’s National Amusements holding company has commented publicly on the matter.) The wave of speculation about the future of Paramount comes as the entertainment industry is working through a massive transition when it comes to the way movies and TV shows are produced, distributed and monetized.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Skydance Media and Paramount Global‘s controlling shareholder are engaged in talks that could fold the home of CBS, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central into a new entity controlled by the people who produce starry Hollywood franchises such as “Mission Impossible” and “Tranformers.” Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount’s corporate parent, National Amusements Inc., is in early discussions with a consortium of investors led by Skydance founder David Ellison,. (above, pictured), according to a person familiar with the matter.

Editor’s note: Underplayed in the media intrigue over the prospect of Warner Bros swallowing Shari Redstone’s empire that includes Paramount and CBS is the gloomy reality that another storied Hollywood studio could go the way of Fox. That went from a vibrant multi-faceted creative content-generating enterprise to a headstone, when Rupert Murdoch decided to cash out for Disney stock. David Zaslav spent 2023 kicking employees and finished films to the curb to pay down debt just to get this far; chances are more blood will spill down Melrose if Redstone sells some or all the pieces of Paramount to be mashed into an existing studio. When Bill Mechanic was perched atop Paramount, Disney and Fox, he built Disney’s home video from a $30 million to $3 billion business, and found ways to take risks and squeeze max returns from blockbusters from Braveheart to Titanic, Independence Day and many others. Who better to remind Hollywood that once a major studio dies, it never comes back, and that there might be better ways to squeeze better performance out of an established creative business with global pipelines?

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global has clinched a deal that is crucial to its future — but it’s not the transaction that Wall Street has been buzzing about for a few weeks. Paramount Global and Comcast have set a new carriage agreement covering Paramount’s cable channels and CBS-owned stations. The pact averts the prospect of a blackout for CBS stations and Paramount channels across Comcast’s cable systems, which reach about video 14.5 million subscribers and 29 million broadband subscribers.

UPDATED with company statement: Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, has confirmed it was the victim of a hack that affected more than 82,000 people.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here leading you into the Christmas break with your final dash of news and analysis of the year. It’s been a blast. Thank you to regular readers for taking time out your busy schedules to give this a good ol’ glance every week. As our counterparts across the pond like to say, we appreciate you. We’ll be back in 2024 with plenty more.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Would the combination of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global — two companies heavily tied to the declining legacy TV biz — make financial sense? Investors reacted to news of early talks between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount about a potential merger, which broke just prior to market close Wednesday.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks for a potential merger that would see two of the world’s biggest media companies join together, according to reports.The talks are in a “very early stage” and the merger may still not go ahead, sources close to the talks claim.Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies, Variety has confirmed.

After weeks of outrage from members about its silence over the terror attack against Israel, the Writers Guild is finally speaking out.

A massive collection of some of Hollywood’s biggest names have commended President Joe Biden for his “unshakable moral conviction” and helping to get home some of the hostages taken by Hamas in their terror attack against Israel.

Valerie Wu Intern Shari Redstone and Gelila Assefa Puck have joined forces to host an event designed to bring together members of Black and Jewish communities for dialogue and solidarity at a time of extreme polarization across the U.S. The Oct. 17 event, “Rebuilding Bridges Between the Black and Jewish Communities Through Art and Conversation,” will be held at Spago Beverly Hills and emceed by Spectrum One news anchor Giselle Fernández.

The studios are putting on a united front when it comes to the striking scribes and actors, but Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global dust-up over who really has the streaming rights to Eric Cartman and the South Park gang shows no signs of settling down.

Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley Conference is known for drawing an A-list roster of execs from across the media and tech realms, with a generous sprinkling of sports commissioners, politicos and other notables added to the mix.

National Amusements, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global run by Shari Redstone, has received a $125 million preferred equity investment from BDT Capital Partners.