Many companies have set their eyes on Paramount, including Skydance. The company has finally made an offer to take over the media giant in charge of Star Trek.
Over the last month, Sheri Redstone has been seeking to sell her controlling interest in Paramount Global, held through her company, National Amusements. Several buyers have expressed an interest, including Skydance Media’s David Ellison. Redstone and Paramount have reportedly been in talks with potential buyers in December and January.
Warner Bros. Discovery entered the race last month, though that merger was met with scepticism by analysts. It is clear that Restone and Paramount are eager to make some kind of deal due to the large debt load.
So far, talks with Ellison have progressed the furthest, reportedly having made a “preliminary offer” to buy National Amusements. Skydance would need additional financing for the deal, which will likely be acquired through Ellison’s father, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle Larry Ellison. Ellison is primarily interested in the studio, but Paramount seeks to sell National Amusements as a whole.
The Future of Star Trek and Paramount+
A merger with Skydance will affect Star Trek, but Ellison already has connections to the franchise. Recently, Skydance has been working with Paramount Pictures on recent movies, with David Ellison credited as an executive producer. Ellison also has a connection to Alex Kurtman, who is currently in charge of the franchise. In 2011, Kurtzman and his former partner Roberto Orci held talks to merge their production company, K.O. Paper Products, with Skydance.
The fate of Paramount+ is currently unknown, which is home to the original and legacy Star Trek releases. Several outcomes could happen:
- The streaming service remains part of the newly merged company.
- Coordination with other small to medium-size streamers on bundles (which Apple+ is considering).
- A closer content merger as they have done with Comcast and SkyShowtime.
In these scenarios, the Star Trek franchise could live on within a Paramount streaming service.
If Paramount+ shuts down, the original and legacy Star Trek show could be licensed out to other streamers (like they have done with “Prodigy” and Netflix). Without an in-house streaming service, the Skydance/Paramount merger could be open to partnerships with third-party media companies to develop new and original Star Trek content.
While no deals have officially been accepted, Skydance stands a strong chance of snapping up the deal.
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