Good morning! Simone Biles is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, Meghan Markle has a new lifestyle show, and Shari Redstone plans her exit from her family's company. Have a restful weekend!
- Paramount importance. Emotions ran high throughout 2024 at Shari Redstone’s Paramount Global, as my colleague Lila MacLellan details for Fortune. Multiple rounds of layoffs and general mismanagement—including a confusing C-suite structure with three co-CEOs—created an atmosphere "full of tension, grief, and uncertainty" for employees, according to former employees. The company’s stock fell significantly in 2024, and its cable business took a $6 billion write-down in August.
When Redstone, currently chairwoman of the media empire, reached an $8 billion deal to merge Paramount with Skydance Media in July of last year, it seemed like everyone could finally take a breath—at least until more details come out about what it could look like post-merger.
Of course, the turmoil that rocked Paramount is not all on Redstone. The entertainment industry writ large is facing massive disruption and upheaval; it’s not an easy time to be a legacy media boss. As Matthew Belloni, founder of digital media company Puck, writes, Redstone secured promises from Skydance’s David Ellison, the Oracle heir, to try to save the historic film and TV company.
The deal still needs regulatory approval. But if it does go through, Redstone could receive not only a handsome payout, but a little relief from the behind-the-scenes machinations that have defined much of Paramount’s last few years. Redstone declined to comment for Fortune’s story.
It’s been a drama-filled conclusion for Redstone's run at Paramount. And depending on what happens this year as Donald Trump's administration takes charge (Redstone reportedly has a friendly relationship with the president elect, though he is suing CBS, also owned by Paramount's parent company, for $10 billion), this chapter of the family’s saga may be coming to a close. You can read the rest of Lila’s story here.
Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
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