Century-old American film and television company that has struggled in the streaming era. Since 2019 it has shed $16bn in market value. Its controlling shareholder is Shari Redstone.
Paramount was acquired by Skydance Media, run by David Ellison, in an $8.4bn deal completed in August 2025, mainly financed by Larry Ellison. The Redstone family pocketed $2.4bn. The deal was delayed by the Federal Communications Commission, which withheld its agreement until Paramount settled a legal complaint from Donald Trump about a CBS News report. Safra Catz, Oracle's former chief executive, sits on Paramount's board.
Trump sued Paramount over an interview that CBS conducted during the 2024 election with Kamala Harris. Different portions aired on "Face the Nation" and "60 Minutes"—in one Harris sounded succinct on Israel, in another muddled. Trump alleged distortion in violation of the Lanham Act, which bars deceptive advertising. Most legal analysts thought the suit was weak.
In July 2025 Paramount agreed to pay $16m to Trump's presidential library to settle the case—a deal resembling Disney's earlier $15m commitment to the same library to end a separate defamation suit. As part of the settlement CBS did not apologise but agreed henceforth to release transcripts of its interviews with presidential candidates. The head of "60 Minutes" and the boss of CBS both left in spring 2025.
In April 2025 "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley told viewers on air that "Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways"—an allegation of editorial meddling that exposed a rift between the news brand and its Hollywood owner. Redstone had reportedly sought more editorial oversight in recent months.
Paramount shareholders are preparing to sue Redstone and other board members for breach of duty over the settlement; some have hired Abbe Lowell, a litigator, and will probably demand that Redstone personally cover the payment. Some Democratic senators have called the payment a bribe to a government official.
On December 8th 2025 Paramount offered $108bn in cash to buy the whole of Warner Bros Discovery, after Netflix announced a rival $83bn deal on December 5th for Warner's studio and streaming services. Paramount offered $30 per share for all of Warner, whereas Netflix offered $27.75 for just its streaming platform and studios, allowing Warner shareholders to keep the TV and cable networks. Paramount was planning a $6bn "cost-synergy opportunity" from merging its studio with Warner's. The Ellison family has made clear it is willing to shell out more. David Ellison, a devotee of the silver screen who produced "Top Gun: Maverick", said a combined Warner-Paramount would release more than 30 movies a year in cinemas. Combined, Paramount and Warner would have the largest share of the national television-ad market: 35%, compared with Disney's 27%. Their streaming services, Paramount+ and HBO Max, together sell more subscriptions in America than even Netflix. Filings reveal the biggest financial backers of Paramount's bid are a group of sovereign-wealth funds from the Gulf: the Ellisons were to stump up $12bn while Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia would together contribute $24bn. Apollo, a private-equity shop, and RedBird, a specialist media-and-sport investment firm with $12bn in assets under management, are also on board. Affinity Partners, an investment firm run by Jared Kushner, is part of the consortium. An earlier offer had included Tencent, which is no longer on board. The Gulf investors would have no voting rights or board representation.
In February 2026 Paramount Skydance grasped Warner Bros Discovery from the jaws of Netflix after months of wrangling. The deal, which must still be approved by regulators around the world, would create an entertainment giant and give Gulf sovereign-wealth funds an unprecedented stake in popular culture. On April 23rd 2026 Warner shareholders were due to vote on the takeover; Paramount offered $31 per Warner share. Warner's share price was 12% below Paramount's cash offer, reflecting regulatory risk. If approved, the deal will enthrone David Ellison as the king of Hollywood. David Zaslav, Warner's boss, stands to collect more than $800m from the transaction.
Paramount is said to be considering Bari Weiss, an opinionated journalist with no television experience, for a big role at CBS. The company spent $7.7bn on the rights to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a martial-arts league with ties to Donald Trump, and plans to broadcast a UFC fight on the White House lawn.
The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes the worst cigars.