Confusion and anxiety reigned at a CBS-Politico joint party today ahead of the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, with staffers shocked at news that Bob Bakish, CEO of parent Paramount Global, is set to exit abruptly as early as Monday morning.
There have been rumblings about Bakish for days as the company enters the final stretch of exclusive merger negotiations with David Ellison’s Skydance.
Who knows what’s next?” a Paramount Global executive told Deadline at the party.
Staffers speculated on CBS being sold, on it being turned over to Jeff Zucker to run, and other theories.
The former CNN chief heads up a joint venture between RedBird Capital, one of Skydance’s backers, and an Emirati investment fund.
A few from CBS at the party expressed some apprehension at the billionaire’s ties with Donald Trump.
(According to reports, he was backing Tim Scott and has not donated to the Republican presidential nominee this campaign cycle.
Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount through her family holding company NAI, put Bakish in charge of a combined ViacomCBS in 2019.
Ahead of the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a joint party hosted by CBS and Politico today caused confusion and anxiety among the staff. They were shocked to learn that Bob Bakish, the CEO of parent company Paramount Global, would be leaving abruptly as early as Monday morning.
As Bakish moves into the last stages of exclusive merger talks with Skydance, David Ellison’s company, there have been rumors about the company for days. However, his impending departure set off a tidal wave of uneasy conjecture tonight in Washington, D.C. The historic lot and movie studio have always piqued Ellison’s interest the most. Though it appears that Skydance intends to keep the business afloat, at least temporarily, network executives aren’t placing bets on it and are concerned about CBS’s future as well as who might be in charge of Paramount Global in a matter of days—a trio of senior executives, a new CEO?
“We all knew things were going to change, but nobody anticipated Bob would leave us so quickly. At the celebration, a Paramount Global executive said to Deadline, “Who knows what’s next?”. Employee rumors included the sale of CBS, Jeff Zucker taking over as CEO, and other scenarios. Skydance’s backer RedBird Capital and an Emirati investment fund have partnered to form a joint venture led by the former head of CNN.
An essential component of any transaction, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is also a significant investor in Skydance. A few CBS employees who attended the event expressed some concern about the billionaire’s connections to Donald Trump. He was reportedly supporting Tim Scott and hasn’t contributed to the Republican presidential nominee this election cycle. Joe Biden received a gift of almost $1 million from David Ellison. ).
Putting Bakish in charge of a combined ViacomCBS in 2019, Shari Redstone, who owns Paramount through her family holding company NAI, appointed Bakish. Sources claim that he is not overly fond of the Skydance agreement.
