Paramount-Skydance Deal: Top Execs On Wooing Talent, Boosting Streaming And The Mantra That Persuaded Shari Redstone: “Don’t Take It Private, Break It Up And Kill It”
deadline.comAs news of Skydance Media‘s merger with Paramount Global sank in across the media business, top execs from Skydance and chief backer RedBird Capital lifted the veil on negotiations, streaming plans, their regulatory outlook, Larry Ellison’s role and a host of other topics.
One question on the minds of many: After years of struggle, with deep-pocketed tech titans able to pay more to lure away talent, how will the recapitalized Paramount make its pitch to the creative community? “When you create that culture of creativity and set a high bar, it’s our hope that the most talented people in the whole world will want to call Paramount home,” Skydance CEO David Elliuson said.
Jeff Shell, a senior RedBird exec and former NBCUniversal CEO who is in line to become president of Paramount when the deal closes, cited a stream of back-and-forths with talent on emails and texts in recent months. “Just about everybody has reached out to us,” he said.
Asked what changed in order for Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone to return to the negotiating table with Skydance after walking away nearly a month ago, RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale replied, “Nothing changed.
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