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New Paramount Global owner says he doesn’t view linear channels, including UK’s 5, as ‘declining’

"Our intention is to keep the company together and invest through that lens long term," said David Ellison

By Jenny Priestley

David Ellison, chairman and CEO, of the new Paramount Skydance Corporation, has said the company is not looking to “spin off” its linear TV channels.

The company counts CBS, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and the UK’s 5 (aka Channel 5) among its linear broadcasters.

Speaking at a media event to promote the closure of the deal to acquire Paramount, Ellison and other executives discussed the future of the company’s linear and cable channels.

“We’re thinking about the cable network not as declining linear assets that we need to split up or deal with somehow. We’re thinking about those brands that we have to redefine,” said Ellison.

“We had this conversation with Shari [Redstone] when we had the first meeting about the company–our intention is to keep the company together and invest through that lens long term,” he added.

Skydance finally took control of Paramount Global last week following a protracted saga. The deal is believed to have cost Skydance around $8 billion.