When entertainment giant Paramount Skydance (PSKY) moved to take over Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), one of the biggest issues that emerged was CNN. Warner’s news network represented a bit of a puzzle to anyone who looked at it closely enough. But new reports suggest that Paramount has plans for CNN, when—and if—it is brought under Paramount’s umbrella. Investors gave Paramount the benefit of the doubt, and a fractional boost in share prices in the closing minutes of Monday’s trading.
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Reports note that the current plan is to merge CNN with CBS News, under the current control of Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. Such a move would likely result in increased efficiencies and cost cutting, with investigative reporting pooled, on-the-ground correspondents shared, and redundancies getting tossed out altogether. There are also positive applications for digital production, a point that may be just what CNN needs in the face of ongoing viewership declines.
If Paramount can frame this as an improvement in fact-checking, digital presentation, and similarly valuable points, then it might have a better chance of getting the deal past the regulatory gauntlet. CNN also has a widely-known international expertise that goes beyond even that of CBS News, which could be helpful, especially if the two entities are more compartmentalized.
Hitting the Upfronts
Meanwhile, upfront season is beginning at Paramount Skydance, which is actively trying to convince advertisers to buy in on ad space. With Paramount offering access to cable networks, over-the-air networks, FAST networks and premium streaming networks as well, there are a lot of potential use cases here.
CBS recently revealed its fall schedule, complete with CBS Fest on the Paramount studio lot. A supplementary “sizzle reel” was also shown, that also made an appearance at the recent CinemaCon event. Paramount took the opportunity to show off “female-forward” content as well, building on the success of The Madison. Only time will tell just how well it worked out.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on PSKY stock based on five Holds and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6.67% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PSKY price target of $11.38 per share implies 3.76% downside risk.
