Employee
There was confusion and anxiety at the joint CBS-Politico party today ahead of the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as staffers were shocked by the news that Bob Bakish, CEO of parent company Paramount Global, was set to make an unexpected exit Monday morning.
Rumors about Bakish have been circulating for several days as the company enters the final stages of exclusive merger talks with David Ellison’s Skydance. But his impending departure tonight set off a wave of worrying speculation in Washington, D.C. Ellison has always been mostly interested in movie studios and historic sites. Although it seems like Skydance plans to keep the company intact, at least for the time being, people at the network aren’t betting on it and are feeling uncertain about the future of CBS, and some Who could run Paramount Global within days – a trio of top executives, a new chief executive?
“We knew changes were coming, but no one expected Bob to move so quickly. Who knows what will happen next?” a Paramount Global executive told Deadline at the party. Employees speculated about CBS being sold, Jeff Zucker taking over, and other theories. The former CNN chief leads a joint venture between Redbird Capital, one of Skydance’s backers, and an Emirati investment fund.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is also a big Skydance investor and critical of any deal. Some CBS people at the party expressed some apprehension over the billionaire’s relationship with Donald Trump. (According to reports, he was supporting Tim Scott and has not donated to a Republican presidential candidate this campaign cycle. David Ellison just gave nearly $1 million to Joe Biden.)
Shari Redstone, who controls Paramount through her family holding company NAI, put Bakish in charge of the combined ViacomCBS in 2019. According to sources, he is said to be less than supportive of the Skydance deal.
