A new filing with the Federal Communications Commission outlines a plan to “strengthen and revitalize” the CBS broadcast network and its owned and operated stations, should Oracle founder Larry Ellison be allowed to assume control of the broadcast licenses.
Ellison, the father of Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison (who would be the future CEO of Paramount should the merger go through), would control the new company through a handful of corporate entities, alongside Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital. Companies controlled by Larry Ellison are contributing the bulk of the cash required to get the deal done, hence the voting control.
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But first it has to receive approval from the government, and in addition to an antitrust review by the Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice, that means approval by the FCC to transfer the CBS broadcast licenses. That requirement led to the filing, which outlines the deal, and the players involved.
In the filing, Ellison notes that they do not currently own any business with a broadcast license, and thus will not reduce competition in the space.
And they tout their plans to invest in both CBS and its local stations.
“CBS and the O&O local stations, and their robust distribution networks, are among the company’s strongest and most stable assets,” the filing says. “With an improved balance sheet, New Paramount will be able to make strategic investments in the legendary newsgathering and reporting efforts of the national CBS television network and the company’s O&O local stations. These investments will ensure that both the national network (which reaches all television markets) and the O&Os will continue to serve as trusted sources of news. The investment in the CBS television network similarly will help ensure popular live sports and highly rated entertainment programming remain available to viewers over-the-air and will benefit CBS affiliate stations. In turn, these iconic broadcast assets will act as pillars for the growth and success of New Paramount more broadly.”
With regard to the O&Os, the filing lays out a rough plan to “preserve and enhance the legacy and broad reach of the national CBS television network and the company’s 28 owned-and-operated (“O&O”) local television broadcast stations, while leveraging their historic strengths to successfully meet the challenges presented by today’s dynamic and disruptive media landscape.”
That includes an investment in the digital footprint of the CBS stations. “The investments planned for the O&Os bolsters not only their online presence, but also their sustainability to continue to deliver important local and national news and other programming over the air,” the filing indicates.
In a conference call with reporters after the Skydance deal was announced, Jeff Shell, slated to be president of the new company, touted CBS as a “crown jewel” asset of the company.
“I think if there’s going to be a change for CBS, it’s going to be that we’re going to probably manage it a bit more aggressively for cash flow, meaning making some harder decisions on time periods and things like that going forward, which you have to when you have a declining business,” Shell says. “But there’s really no change in the overall vision for the asset, other than we believe in it, it’s going to be actively part of all of our plans going forward.”
