Paramount Global said on April 29 that Bob Bakish will step down from his role as the chief executive officer and from the board of directors amid its ongoing talks with Skydance Media on a possible merger.
Mr. Bakish had led the company since the 2019 merger with CBS to form ViacomCBS, later branded as Paramount Global. He joined Viacom in 1997 and took the helm of the company in 2016.
Paramount said it would form “an Office of CEO” comprised of three senior executives—CBS President and CEO George Cheeks, Paramount Pictures studio chief Brian Robbins, and Chris McCarthy, head of Showtime, MTV and other network—to lead the company.
Paramount’s board of directors said the creation of the Office of the CEO will enable the company to “accelerate growth and strengthen operations.”
“The Office of the CEO is working with the Board to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan to accelerate growth and develop popular content, materially streamline operations, strengthen the balance sheet, and continue to optimize the streaming strategy,” it stated.
Shari Redstone, chair of the board, thanked Mr. Bakish for his contributions over his long career at Paramount, adding that she has “tremendous confidence” in the trio executives’ leadership.
“Paramount Global includes exceptional assets, and we believe strongly in the future value creation potential of the company,” Ms. Redstone said in a press release.
“They have both the ability to develop and execute on a new strategic plan and to work together as true partners. I am extremely excited for what their combined leadership means for Paramount Global and for the opportunities that lie ahead,” she added.
Paramount—the parent company to major broadcasting networks like CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Showtime, among others—announced the change just ahead of reporting its earnings for the quarter ended in March.
For the quarter ended in March, Paramount reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.62, well ahead of the $0.36 consensus of analysts. Revenue came in shy of expectations at $7.69 billion.
Mr. Bakish’s departure came as Paramount is in exclusive talks with Skydance and trying to build its streaming business as Paramount faces tough competition from Netflix and Walt Disney as viewership of cable TV declines.
But the possible combination has upset some shareholders who say it would benefit controlling shareholder Ms. Redstone at their expense. They have urged Paramount to consider other suitors including Apollo Global Management.
