Brand Marketing
FMCG firms cut senior roles by 32%; Total headcount shrinks 9.26% in FY25
Skydance completes $8 billion Paramount takeover, marking end of Redstone dynasty
Ellison-led media giant aims to revive Paramount’s fortunes in a streaming-dominated market amid steep cable declines, cost-cutting pressures, and industry skepticism.
Last month, Paramount agreed to pay U.S. President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview.
The curtain has fallen on one of Hollywood’s most storied dynasties. Skydance Media sealed its long-anticipated $8 billion takeover of Paramount Global, bringing an end to the decades-long control of the Redstone family and ushering in a new era under the Ellisons.
The deal—more than a year in the making, concluded on August 7, unites Skydance, the studio behind recent hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, with a company that owns a sprawling portfolio of entertainment assets, from CBS and Comedy Central to MTV and the Paramount Pictures studio, home to classics like The Godfather.
For the past decade, Paramount has been fighting uphill in the streaming wars, its traditional television and theatrical businesses steadily losing ground to digital-first giants. Tens of millions of viewers have migrated away from cable and cinemas to on-demand entertainment led by Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. Skydance’s arrival brings what Paramount sorely lacked—deeper financial backing, creative momentum, and a leadership reset.
Skydance is controlled by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. The Ellisons’ entry into Hollywood’s top tier is being seen as both a symbolic and practical shift—symbolic because the Redstones, whose empire began in brick-and-mortar movie theaters, struggled to adapt to a digital-first economy; practical because Paramount’s balance sheet is under strain, with cable network revenues in steep decline and mounting pressure to deliver profitability in streaming.
The merged entity, officially branded Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, inherits a daunting to-do list. Paramount’s new leadership has pledged to find $2 billion in cost savings, even after years of job cuts and budget tightening. Artificial intelligence looms as both a creative tool and an operational disruptor, adding uncertainty to already challenging market conditions.
Beyond the business numbers, Paramount must also contend with cultural and reputational hurdles.
Last month, the company agreed to pay U.S. President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview, a move that rattled CBS News staff. The abrupt cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert— officially for financial reasons—has been dogged by speculation of political motivations.
Meanwhile, creative voices like The Daily Show host Jon Stewart and South Park’s creators have been openly critical of management’s decisions during the drawn-out merger process.
Ex-Tata employee bequeaths prime property to caregiver's granddaughter who brought him comfort in his final years
Gustad Borjorji Engineer, a former Tata Industries employee, passed away in February 2014. Just a month before his death, he wrote a will leaving his 159-square yard flat in Shahibaug, Ahmedabad, to then-13-year-old Amisha Makwana - the granddaughter of his long-time caregiver.