Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, June 4th, 2024

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, June 4th, 2024:

'WE PLAN TO SPEND LESS MONEY AND MAKE MORE STUFF THAT DOESN'T SUCK'
At the company's annual meeting, Paramount's three co-CEOs laid out a plan for the company that sounds suspiciously close to the one Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and his executive team have struggled to implement over the past couple of years.

The Paramount team has identified at least $500 million in what it refers to as "near-term cost reductions," with the plan to identify further "inefficiencies" moving forward. They plan to boost revenue from licensing, pursue a joint venture for Paramount+ and sell off extraneous assets in order to raise money and focus on what is referred to as core businesses. Although it's not clear what that means.

It now appears that Skydance will likely acquire Paramount and the news has been greeted with a resigned "Well, at least Paramount will be owned by people who want it to remain an actual studio."

And while that technically might be the truth, it's not clear to me what Paramount will look like even three years from now. 

Selling off the BET business makes a lot of financial sense, although that is also a part of the Paramount business that is seeing the most consistent growth in subscribers and revenue. 

I suspect Paramount Globals' international assets might have the most value in the near term. It owns both the UK's Channel 5 and Australia's Ten Network Holdings. And while neither entity is as valuable as it was a few years ago, they both would likely be of interest to rival media companies.

And does Paramount Global sell off its CBS Entertainment Group? Selling the entire division in one piece would make the most sense, even if the liner TV business continues to contract. But I have heard that some private equity firms are interested in the division, and given that it includes the broadcast network, 18 broadcast stations, a radio station group, sports networks, news assets and CBS Home Entertainment, it's easy to see where someone could slash costs and continue to milk the assets dry in order to spin off money over the next decade. 

It's not as clear to me how they turn around their streaming division. It's all well and good to say you want to do a joint venture with another streamer. But who would that be? And given the complexities of Paramount Global's existing streaming joint ventures and partnerships outside of the United States, it's not clear how much is even possible contractually.

Now granted, when and if Skydance takes over the current co-CEOs are likely out of a job. But the reporting I've seen is that Skydance doesn't plan to do anything significantly different with the company once it's acquired: cut costs, pursue more partnerships, license more core content and make fewer titles that don't suck.

Which to be honest, doesn’t sound like much of a solution.

ODDS AND SODS
* Paramount+ has landed the world premiere of We Will Dance Again, a documentary about the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel’s Nova Music Festival. It will premiere this fall.

* Alec Baldwin announced on Instagram that he and his wife, Hilaria, will star in a TLC family reality show about life with their seven kids. Am I cynical to suspect this is an attempt to distract and restore his reputation in the midst of the Rust involuntary manslaughter trial?

* Kevin Hart is teaming up with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company to develop a series based on the 2021 Netflix film Fatherhood. In the film, Hart played a single dad who raises his daughter after losing his wife a day after the baby was born.

TWEET OF THE DAY



WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

TUESDAY, JUNE 4TH:
* Clipped Series Premiere (FX)
* Jo Koy: Live From Brooklyn (Netflix)
* Let The Canary Sing (Paramount+)
* Marlon Wayans: Good Grief (Prime Video)
* The Acolyte Series Premiere (Disney+)
* The Eagle Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
* 30 For 30: I'm Just Here For The Riot (ESPN)
* Who Killed WCW? (Vice)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5TH, 2024:
* Backed By The Bros Series Premiere (HGTV)
* Hitler And The Nazis: Evil On Trial (Netflix) 
* How To Rob A Bank (Netflix)
* Under Paris (Netflix)

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY!