Over the past five days, investors gave new Paramount Global owners a glimmer of hope, as its stock price rose 10% to $11.53.

Still, the stock is down 30% from a year ago -- and a massive 78% from its back in 2020.  It now has an enterprise value of $28 billion; it was $46.8 billion in 2019.

More than a few analysts believe that the new company -- at best -- will be a conservative, perhaps slower-moving operation. 

Surely, the incoming executive in charge -- former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell -- has been a controversial figure, partly because of his strongly hands-on approach to media business. Shell was ousted at NBCUniversal in early April 2023 due an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company,

But more importantly, analysts worry that even if Skydance operatives keep to their promise in taking a more aggressive slash-and-burn approach to cutting costs -- pegged at around $2 billion -- this may be too little too late.

Currently, its credit ratings among the rating agencies are still in a fragile state. And there is a major timing factor. Naveen Sarma, media/entertainment managing director of S&P Global Ratings, writes: “The 14-month timetable to closing presents a potential risk for the company as worsening secular industry pressures (and the potential for macroeconomic headwinds) could impede the company's ability to achieve its strategic and financial targets.”

Paramount Global anticipates the transaction will close in the first half of 2025.

What may be more reassuring to analysts is the branding effort that David Ellison -- who will be chairman of the new company -- looks to install. Ellison, who is the 41-year-old son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, believes the new Paramount will be a “media-tech” company.

David Ellison said in an interview with the Financial Times: “In order to effectively navigate this transition, what is required for Paramount as a pure-play media company is to transition to becoming a media and technology company.”

What exactly does that mean? No clear answers, apart from one hint in the presentation for upping its “interactive” capabilities through all its produced movie and TV content.

Hmmm... Maybe Comedy Central will allow me to write -- and air -- my own jokes.