Newly merged Paramount could see tech innovation & ad overhaul under Ellison leadership
Though Paramount Global – which is merging with Skydance Media in a deal valued at around $8bn – will be helmed by CEO David Ellison, it is his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who may be pulling the strings.
Paramount is set to undergo a massive transformation under the leadership of the Ellison family / Adobe Stock
David Ellison, the head of Skydance Media, is set to become the CEO of Paramount Global following a merger between the two entities valued at $8bn, announced in July after a series of tumultuous negotiations. Skydance has signaled that it plans to inject $1.5bn in cash to help transform the floundering entertainment giant. However, the real authority may rest with his father, Larry Ellison, co-founder and chairman of Oracle.
A filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week indicates that Larry’s investment firm, Pinnacle Media, will acquire a 77.5% stake in National Amusements, the company that controls Paramount. A 22.5% stake in the company will be owned by RB Tentpole, a subsidiary of investor Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners.
Pinnacle Media’s deal, valued at $8.4bn, is pending regulatory approval.
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Once the deal is greenlit, the Ellison family will effectively take over Paramount from the Redstone family, longstanding media moguls.
National Amusements president Shari Redstone “has lost a lot of good faith with Paramount’s shareholders,” says Thomas Smale, CEO of FE International, a tech M&A advisory firm. “Larry Ellison might be the reset Paramount needs to win back that trust.”
Of course, the extent of Larry Ellison’s power and involvement in the business is yet to be seen, but some speculate that he could exert significant influence behind the scenes.
It’s likely that Larry will play a “behind-the-scenes role” in David’s leadership, Smale predicts. But David, in Smale’s view, has already “proven himself to be able to adapt to a changing media landscape, expanding into areas like video games and animation.” He says this fact bodes well for the future of the company.
David has shared ambitious plans to transform Paramount, telling investors in early July that Paramount needs to become a “media and technology” company.
Experts told The Drum in July that David is likely to use Skydance’s tech expertise to help blend Paramount’s entertainment legacy with Silicon Valley-style innovation. Skydance’s partnership with Chinese tech giant Tencent – and its obvious connection to Oracle via Larry Ellison – could help drive advances in gaming, software and animation.
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David is also expected to pour significant resources into enhancing Paramount+, the company’s streaming service, which lags significantly behind rivals such as Netflix, Hulu, Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and others. Plus, additional investment in AI and personalization could help improve content discovery.
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Paramount’s eye toward streaming reflects mounting pressures in the space and the collaboration between father and son could spell success for the organization, suggests Tony Marlow, chief marketer at LG Ad Solutions. “This shift signals that the future of media will increasingly be shaped by digital innovation and advanced content distribution strategies, aligning with broader trends in the connected TV landscape,” he says. “In particular, the rise of ad-supported CTV is accelerating as viewers seek flexible, cost-effective options, and advertisers aim to leverage the precise targeting capabilities these platforms provide.”
The notion that Paramount could usher in an advertising overhaul under David and Larry’s leadership is one that’s been articulated by other experts, including Aaron Goldman, chief marketer at advertising platform Mediaocean.
“I’d expect to see the Ellisons invest in new media formats,” says Goldman. He’s also optimistic that the company will introduce “innovations around how advertising is delivered across the portfolio,” noting that, “with such massive scale, there’s tremendous opportunity to rethink how brands are integrated with content for audience engagement.”
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The Ellison takeover marks a major shift in leadership for Paramount and comes after a failed attempt by Fubo chair Edgar Bronfman Jr to acquire the company. As the regulatory process unfolds, the industry is watching closely to see how the Ellison family’s leadership will shape Paramount’s future.
In any case, says LG Ad Solutions’ Marlow, it’s clear that “the consolidation of major media companies, such as Paramount, under the leadership of tech-driven families like the Ellisons, underscores the growing convergence of entertainment and technology.”
The Paramount-Skydance merger is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
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