It may be hard to imagine that a news show like entertainment giant Paramount’s (PARA) 60 Minutes could actually come between it and a merger with Skydance Media. But that may turn out to be exactly the case once the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) takes a look at the deal ahead.
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Media reports note that Brandon Carr, likely the new head of the FCC, will be taking a recent complaint against 60 Minutes into consideration as part of the agency’s review of the Skydance / Paramount deal. The complaint in question stemmed from an interview 60 Minutes staged with Vice-President Kamala Harris, but subsequently edited in a fashion that proved a bridge too far for some.
Carr offered an explanation of what was likely to happen, saying, “There’s also a news distortion complaint at the FCC still, having to do with CBS, and CBS has a transaction before the FCC, and I’m pretty confident that that news distortion complaint over the 60 Minutes transcript is something that is likely to arise in the context of the FCC review of that transaction.”
Daytime Recovery
In other news, while broadcast television is in something of a state of decline, especially based on earnings reports from the various media companies, there are still some bright spots. CBS’ daytime line-up is still pulling viewers, even at a time of day when most people are at work.
The Price is Right, CBS’ classic game show, still pulls in daytime viewers of 5.38 million, and its dramas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful are the number one and number two daytime dramas respectively.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, seven Holds, and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 24.43% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.36 per share implies 19.54% upside potential.
