Paramount Global appears to be finally close to finding a buyer and of the long list of suitors it has attracted over the past six months, it is Skydance Media that has reached a preliminary agreement to buy it, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters today (July 3).
The two companies are not known to each other, having worked together on producing films such as the action blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick and favorite science fiction Star Trek: Into Darkness. But before you get too excited about the potential merger and what it will mean for Paramount's streaming service, there's still a chance it could fail.
The Wall Street Journal reported when it originally published the story that the deal also included a 45-day period during which bidders could still submit offers, so there have been recent reports like this one from CNBC that said potential bidders like Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast’s NBCUniversal are circling again.
Negotiations for a possible Paramax Plus fell through in February, but Peacock accepted them again and Sony joined in April, so there are still plenty of contenders in the running. Companies will be able to submit alternative offers until August 17, depending on the grace period, which is when we will likely hear again if the Skydance deal will go through.
How would Skydance change Paramount Plus?
Paramount Global is home to iconic film studios behind classics like Titanic, Indiana Jones, and The Godfatherbroadcaster CBS, cable networks like MTV Entertainment and Nickelodeon, and of course its streaming division, which includes Paramount Plus and its FAST Pluto TV service.
By joining with Skydance, Paramount will have access to its television projects, which have worked on shows such as Grace and Frankie, Reacher and Baseinteractive entertainment such as virtual reality content and its animation studio, which made Luck. Could this mean that we'll see an expansion of the animation department in the wake of a possible deal? Combining the intelligence of both companies in this area would be an advantageous decision, but nothing is certain.
It could also be the case that a deal is reached that does not include all of Paramount Global’s current assets. A day before the announcement of the preliminary agreement between Paramount and Skydance, Bloomberg reported that Paramount executives were resuming talks to sell the assets of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network, which includes the BET Plus streaming service.
Nothing has been finalized yet, so there's still time to enjoy the best movies and shows on Paramount Plus. As a younger media company, can Skydance save the old Hollywood company Paramount by pulling its fedora hat on (the way Indie was able to do in 2010)? Temple of Doom)? Or will it be the tragic shipwreck of the ship that we saw in Titanic?
