
Now that the high-drama, pumped-up Paramount-CBS-Colbert
story seems to have faded somewhat, the next wave of the story -- from a business perspective -- might be more ground-breaking.
Selling potentially network-owned TV stations -- for example,
CBS-owned-and-operated outlets?
Sounds crazy. But consider that the fast-moving TV/streaming world continues its sometimes unpredictable path.
However, a couple of major things need to
fall in place for this to happen -- for any TV network-owned TV station group.
For one, expect the all-hands-on-deck new chairman of the FCC Brendan Carr would need to lean toward removing
long-time limits on station ownership -- where a single entity cannot own TV stations collectively exceeding 39% of U.S. television households.
“The FCC is expected to move forward with
sweeping deregulation across the media and broadcast landscape... the CBS O&Os immediately become more valuable,” Daniel Kurnos, media analyst of Benchmark Equity Research, recently
wrote.
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Couple this with Paramount Global’s new owners -- Skydance Media, veteran TV and big movie producers (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Mission Impossible,”
“Reacher”) -- who are not necessarily wedded to core media company assets -- like TV stations.
For certain, Skydance wants to develop much more intellectual property, more TV and
movies, as the streaming and digital world expands. They might presumably want to take on the role as an “arms dealer” (as media analysts have been calling this in recent years) for the
future direction of legacy TV-based media companies around their core TV and movie production businesses.
And then throw into the mix more changes for major sports programming properties
seeking more streaming and less linear TV networks.
Although it is in the middle of an 11-year-long deal, in two or three years the NFL would have an option to renegotiate some NFL packages
(read that as even higher pricing) -- and move them to say, Netflix? CBS, as a network, may opt not to continue.
“With the specter of a looming NFL opt-out in 2029 the latest, with some
in the sports world thinking 2028 or even 2027,” says Kurnos, “it is not hard to envision a scenario where the enterprise value of the TV media business is zero or negative -- even though
there are some quality assets embedded within the division.” Some independent TV stations groups are already thinking network-affiliates might not
have all that much growth potential.
Kurnos says selling CBS owned-and-operated stations could easily take care of paying off almost the entirety of the billions in debt Skydance has to shell
out for the Paramount Global acquisition.
Imagine if this picks up some steam. All that would be good for Colbert’s opening monologue fodder on its last days of “The Late
Show” in May 2026.