Paramount Global’s new leadership team has set out its plans for the studio following the completion of its $8.4bn merger with Skydance Media last week.
New Paramount Global CEO David Ellison and President Jeff Shell and their executive team held a press conference to outline their strategy for their film, television, and streaming businesses.
It took place just days after the company unveiled a $7.7bn deal for US rights to the popular UFC fighting competition.
Shell confirmed there would be redundancies at Paramount, which employs around 18,000 people, as it looks to make around $2bn in savings. Shell said the layoffs would be announced in one go. “We do not want to be a company that has layoffs every quarter,” Shell said.
Paramount Pictures Co-Chair Josh Greenstein said the studio plans to increase its film output from eight this year to 15 movies "very quickly," with the ultimate goal of releasing 20 films a year.
“One of our biggest priorities is restoring Paramount as the number one destination for the most talented artists and filmmakers in the world,” Ellison said. “Great filmmakers make great movies.”
The upcoming slate will include new instalments of familiar franchises, such as Star Trek and Transformers, as well as original movies.
Paramount Global also plans to keep veteran cable channels such as Nickelodeon, MTV and BET. "We're thinking about ... the cable networks, not as declining linear assets that we need to spin off or deal with somehow," said Shell. "We're thinking of those brands that we have to redefine."
Tech billionaire Larry Ellison will become the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global when it is acquired by his son David’s Skydance Media, according to a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Discover more here.
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