Tag: media industry

Paramount has acquired Bari Weiss’s media startup The Free Press for $150 million and named her editor-in-chief of CBS News. The move gives Weiss control over CBS News while she continues to run The Free Press as an independent brand.…

Ask Skip examines the possibility of Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, spotlighting how such a move would mark a major shift in Netflix’s identity, from content volume machine to franchise powerhouse. While HBO’s prestige would fill Netflix’s long-standing IP gap,…

Versant reported a continued decline in annual revenue and net income as it prepares to go public. The Comcast spinoff, which now includes legacy networks like CNBC, USA, and SYFY, posted $7 billion in 2024 revenue, down from $7.4 billion…

John Malone’s memoir Born to Be Wired reflects on his career shaping the cable and media industry, emphasizing that people and relationships—not just deals—were his greatest asset. From early TCI days to missed mergers like Netflix and pivotal partnerships with…

Rebecca Avery urges media companies to rethink vendor relationships that have become too embedded. While vendors offer speed and expertise, unchecked reliance can weaken internal agility, clarity, and control. She outlines how to reset these partnerships with intentional boundaries and…

Ask Skip calls out legacy media for faking transformation while quietly executing a slow-motion collapse. Instead of real strategic pivots, companies are slashing costs, consolidating teams, and staging investor theater—all to buy time until an acquisition. True reinvention would require…

Paramount laid off 3.5% of its U.S. workforce, continuing a pattern of cuts tied to declining linear TV revenues and an uncertain pivot to streaming. The move follows over 2,000 job eliminations tied to a $500 million cost-cutting effort, and…

S&P downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery to BB+ junk status, citing continued revenue and cash flow declines in its linear TV business and a lack of near-term debt improvement. The agency lowered its EBITDA forecasts for 2025 and 2026, now expecting…

Warner Bros. Discovery is renaming Max back to HBO Max—because why not reverse course on your billion-dollar brand pivot two years later? It’s the latest move in a saga that’s less about strategy and more about corporate whiplash. Despite having…

Comcast has named its cable and digital spinoff "Versant," consolidating legacy brands like USA, CNBC, and Fandango under a single corporate identity. The move streamlines operations, enables strategic flexibility, and positions the unit for potential M&A or divestiture, reflecting broader…